Ophelia is constantly surrounded in flowers, wether she is being compared to them, gathering them, or giving them away, It is a distinctive trait associated to her.

When Ophelia has gone mad she approaches Queen Gertrude, Kind Claudius, and Laretes with a song of lamentation, accompanied by her distribution of flowers.

  Ophelia -

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember: and there is pansies. that's for thoughts.

Laertes -

A document in madness, thoughts and remembrance fitted.

Ophelia -

There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's rue
for you; and here's some for me: we may call it
herb-grace o' Sundays: O you must wear your rue with
a difference. here's a daisy: I would give you
some violets, but they withered all when my father
died: they say he made a good end,--

Laertes recieves rosemary for remembrance and thoughts.
For Gertrude there is fennel and columbines. representing marital infidelity;
For Claudius, rue and a daisy denoting repentance and a love doomed to be unhappy.

When Ophelia dies by hanging up flower to dry, Gertrude notes that, "there is a willow grows aslant...." The tree Ophelia fell of off is a Willow tree. And Willows symbolizes FERTILITY in Medieval speech.

So from the flowers we have fertility in willows, and abortion/repenteance in Rue. Shakespeare loves to complicate things.

 
Rue is such an important herb/flower that it needs to be looked into further.
Pregnant / Works Cited / Rue / Death / Home
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