Be careful, if you haven't completed Act IV yet--spoiler ahead!
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In Act IV, Ophelia appears to "lose it." In Scene 5, starting at line 169 and again at 174, we have her famous lines with the herbs and flowers.
There's rosemary: that's for remembrance. Pray you,
love, remember. And there is pansies: that's for
thoughts.
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There's fennel for you, and columbines.--There's
rue for you, and here's some for me. We may call it
"herb of grace" o' Sundays.--You may wear your
rue with a difference.--There's a daisy. I would give
you some violets, but they withered all when my
father died. They say 'a made a good end.
[sings] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy--
Why do you think Shakespeare chose herbs and flowers to show Ophelia's distress/madness? Do you have a key in your copy that gives the period associations with the flowers, etc.? This always intrigues me. In the 19th century, associating certain flowers with certain emotions, sentiments, was called "the language of flowers." They even had "flower dictionaries," etc.
For example, in the B&N edition of HAMLET, they say that fennel is "a parsley-like herb, conventionally associated with flattery and deceit" (302).
daisy = "the flower is associated with springtime and innocent love" (302).
What is it in this mixture of flowers and herbs that suggests trouble for Ophelia? Do flowers and herbs together suggest confusion, distress, madness?
Let us know your thoughts on Ophelia's "bouquet."
