| rosemary | remembrance i.e. weddings, funerals (Laertes- sisterly devotion)*wood used to make lutes; cooking herb |
| pansies | thoughts (Laertes) |
| fennel and columbine | flattery, deceit (Claudius- seducer, diplomat, relationship with Queen)*cooking herb’ ingratitude and forsaken lovers |
| daisy | infidelity (Gertrude- relationship with Claudius)*deception |
| rue | sorrow, regret, repentance (Gertrude- guilt)*thought to be preventive against plague |
| violets | faithfulness (Polonius- Hamlet cut off after murdering Ophelia’s dad) |
| willow tree | Ophelia destroyed by Hamlet’s rejection and death of father by Hamlet’s hands |
| weeping willow | mourning |
| creeping willow | love forsaken |
| water willow | freedom |
| crow flowers | ingratitude (Hamlet rejected her)*pink flower, grows in marshy places |
| flowering nettles | slander, sting (sorrow, rejection) |
| daisies | farewell (Ophelia’s death) |
| long purples | sexual love (Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship) |
| may of “rose of may” | early blooming bud (youth) |
| rose of “rose of may” | opening up to love |
| nettle | *wild plant that has painful stinging hairs on its stem |
| orchid | *purple flower apparently associated with sex and death |
Hamlet flower symbolism
July 28, 2019