Ophelia's Flowers and Their

Symbolic Meaning

Shakespeare liked to use flowers and plants as images to illustrate his ideas. Ophelia uses flowers as symbols of
her deep sorrow and grief. She is very upset because her father, Polonius, has just been killed by Hamlet. Being
a sensitive and intelligent young woman, Ophelia needs to express herself, and she does so by passing out
flowers to the court in her seeming mad state of mind. Through this, she accuses the King and Queen of the guilt
she wants them to feel. Using flowers in this indirect way is safer than directly stating her opinions.
The people of those days found it difficult to express and communicate directly. This is based from fear and lack
of polite and proper words. They feared to cross someone (in this case the King and Queen) and be killed for
insulting them; so, poor distraught Ophelia does not choose these flowers haphazardly. She chooses them with
the intent to say to the King and Queen what she thinks and feels about the whole weird happenings around her.
Here is the symbolic meaning of the flowers she hands out:

Rosemary: the symbol for remembrance and faithfulness

Laertes, the son of Polonius, has been out of the country and returns home to find out who is responsible for the
death of his father. While speaking with the new King and Queen, his sister, Ophelia, enters and speaks. First
she goes to Laertes, her bother, and says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray you, love,
remember." She wants her brother to help her figure out who killed their father. "Remember Think back on
what's been going on" is what she is telling him.

Pansy: the symbol for thoughts and faithfulness.

Ophelia then says, "And there is pansies, that's for thoughts."

Fennel: the symbol of flattery

At this point, Ophelia walks to the King, and while handing him some fennel, says, "There's fennel for you and
columbines." That's a jab to the King! The audience in Shakespeare's time would have understood the first to
mean flattery and the second to mean male adultery and foolishness, because once you pick fennel, it would wilt
so quickly. She knew that the new King loved flattery. An old saying is "Sow fennel, sow sorrow."

Columbine: the symbol for male adultery, ingratitude, and faithlessness;

the emblem of deceived lovers
It was also the symbol for foolishness. It was kind of an amusing type of thing for men, which was the old double
standard in those days. It was brave of her to first flatter the King and then accuse him of foolish adultery.
A very frightening thing, when we remember that the King has the power to take her life.

Rue: the symbol for adultery; the symbol for genuine repentance of all
transgressions for women; the symbol for everlasting suffering
Rue is very bitter. Ophelia then walks over to the Queen and says, "There's rue for you; and here's some for me.
We may call it herb of grace a Sunday's. O, you must wear your rue with a difference." Note that rue was the
major cause of abortion in its day, which is also why it was tied in with adultery. So she insults both the Queen
and King to their faces, in front of witnesses.

Daisy: the symbol for innocence

Ophelia then sees a daisy and says, "There's a daisy," and she picks it up, looks sadly, and then puts it back. In
effect she is saying, "There is no innocence here."

Violet: the symbol for faithfulness or fidelity

Then Ophelia says, "I would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father died." So what is she
telling the King and Queen? What is she saying about their faithfulness and integrity?
This was very confrontational and brave to say, for this young lady. Most people now do not know about flower
symbolism and how important it was to the story. That's unfortunate, for so much is missed and unappreciated.
Ophelia knew exactly what she was doing when she handed out flowers in this scene.

http://www.huntingtonbotanical.org/Shakespeare/ophelia.htm

How to Read a Bouquet: Traditionally, flowers have always been generally symbolic of peoples regard for
each other. In earlier times, each flower was part of a very extensive vocabulary. Following is a list of some
flowers with their symbolic meanings.
FLOWER
Aloe
Amaryllis

SYMBOLIC OF
Grief
Pride

FLOWER
Ivy
Jonquil

Azalea
Basil
Bluebell
Buttercup
Cactus
Carnation (yellow)
Chrysanthemum (red)
Chrysanthemum (white)
Chrysanthemum (yellow)
Crocus
Spring

Temperance
Hatred
Constancy
Ingratitude
Warmth
Disdain
Love
Truth
Slighted love
Youthful
Gladness

Lilac
Lily (white)
Lily (yellow)
Magnolia
Marigold
Marigold (French)
Narcissus
Nasturtium
Peony
Poppy (red)
Rose (red)

Daffodil
Daisy

Regard
Innocence

Geranium
Goldenrod
Hollyhock
Honeysuckle
Ivy

Melancholy
Precaution
Ambition
Devoted affection
Fidelity, Marriage

Rose (yellow)
Rose (red and white
together)
Snapdragon
Snowdrop
Sunflower
Tulip
Violet (blue)

SYMBOLIC OF
Fidelity, Marriage
Desire for return of
affection
Humility
Purity
Falsehood
Love of nature

Despair
Jealousy
Egotism
Patriotism
Shame, Bashfulness
Consolation
Purity and
Loveliness
Jealousy
Unity
Presumption
Hope
Haughtiness
Fame
Faithfulness

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Flowers for Ophelia & Flowers for Another Enrichment Activity

DIRECTIONS: You can earn a maximum of 10 points for this assignment. (Points will
be added to your Hamlet Unit Test.) You can either do two bouquets for Ophelia, or do
one for Ophelia and one for someone in your own life.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Put together one or two bouquets of flowers for Ophelia.

Create a visual representation for each bouquet (draw, paste photos, etc.).
Clearly label if the bouquet is for Living Ophelia or Dead Ophelia.
Clearly label whom (what character) the flowers are from.
Clearly label the flowers. Need five (5) flowers in the bouquet.
Next to each label give a brief explanation of why that flower is in the bouquet.

Points Possible:

Bouquet for Ophelia when she is alive:

5 points

Bouquet for Ophelia after she is dead: 5 points

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Flowers of Your Own

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Choose someone in your life (mother, father, brother, sister, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.) and put
together a bouquet for that person.
Create a visual representation for the bouquet (draw, paste photos, etc.).
Label: (a) Whom the bouquet is for and (b) the flowers.
Need five (5) flowers in the bouquet.
Next to each label give a brief explanation of why that flower is in the bouquet.

Points Possible:

Bouquet of your own:

5 points