Shakespeare's Use of Floral Imagery in Representing Ophelia

Throughout Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the reader or spectator is granted a unique perspective on the character of Ophelia, daughter of Lord Polonius. By employing a literary strain of floral imagery in several of Ophelia's spoken lines, the lines of other characters with whom she interacts, and finally her tragic death, Shakespeare gradually associates her persona and emotional state with the delicacy, fragility and tenderness of a flower. Moreover, Shakespeare does not limit this association to one flower in particular, but instead suggests multiple floral references, each containing its own distinct and specific meaning.

Ophelia's first appearance in the play occurs as her beloved brother Laertes is bidding her farewell and subsequently offers her his subtle token of advice concerning her relationship with Hamlet:
"A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute,
No more" (I.iii.6-10).

In the aforementioned lines, Laertes voices his concern that, much like a violet, Hamlet's love for Ophelia, though temporarily sweet-smelling and outwardly attractive, will eventually wither away and die, as flowers are known to do upon approaching the end of their lifespan. One could argue this would be a valid concern of any older brother. Already Shakespeare is drawing similarities and parallels between the nature and beauty of flowers, with which his readers and spectators would have been familiar, and the passionate love shared between Hamlet and Ophelia.

However, this love is not without its hardships and pains. Ophelia later refers to Hamlet as "Th'expectancy and rose of the fair state" (III.i.151). Although this title likely references Hamlet's esteemed political position as heir to the throne, there are larger connotations embedded just beneath the surface. For untold centuries, roses have not only been the symbol for heated, passionate love shared between a man and woman, but as a symbol of the heartache which often accompanies such love. Shakespeare's figurative imagery works in this case, as roses are known to possess dangerous, painful thorns. As is depicted in the continuance of events, Ophelia subsequently comes to realize the harsh realities of these love-thorns, declaring "Oh, woe is me" (III.i.159). The very essence of their tragically doomed love is the thorn of all thorns.

Furthermore, Ophelia is herself characterized by numerous floral references, particularly after the tragic murder of her father Polonius at the hands of her own lover, Hamlet. It is arguable that the sudden, unexpected death of her father, coupled with her now distorted view of Hamlet, served as the catalyst to push Ophelia further into utter madness and a state of eccentric emotion, evidenced by her random outbursts of senseless songs (IV.v.163-195). Interestingly, while singing in Act IV, Ophelia pauses to converse with her brother Laertes:
"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...
There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they withered all
when my father died" (IV.iv.177-181).

In Shakespeare's culture, as well as the historical time period set for Hamlet, it would not have been uncommon for flowers to symbolize specific traits, ideologies and/or character qualities of a person. In this scene, as is denoted by footnote in the Norton Shakespeare, "Columbines were associated with ingratitude or marital infidelity, fennel with flattery" and thus symbolizes accordingly (Greenblatt, 402).

The reappearance of the violet, this time surfacing in the aforementioned lines spoken by Ophelia, recalls the reader or spectator to Ophelia's first appearance in the play, during which Laertes describes Hamlet's love for Ophelia as being like "A violet in the youth of primy nature" (I.iii.6). However, in this case, the violets seem to symbolize Ophelia's faithfulness to and love for her father, which has now, like her love for Hamlet, withered and died along with Polonius.

The daisy mentioned by Ophelia is also worthy of note as "In England, fields and lawns and grassy slopes are covered with it [daises] almost all year long. A daisy is included in Ophelia's garland in Hamlet and in The Two Noble Kinsmen (a late play that Shakespeare may have written with Jon Fletcher), daises are described as "smel-lesse, yet most quaint," the word quaint in those days meaning 'pretty,'" (Kerr, 10). Ophelia's physical beauty ("pretty") and continued innocence certainly parallels to the notion of the quaintness of the daisy. However, it is this very innocence that causes her to be susceptible to the emotional complexities she later incurs, thus eternally dooming her to a tragic death and failed love.

Finally, even in her suicidal drowning, Ophelia is surrounded by floral imagery resonating with deep symbolism, as is noted by Queen Gertrude:
"There is willow grows aslant a brook
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream
Therewith fantastic garlands did she make
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daises, and long purples" (IV.vii.137-140).
As is again denoted by footnote in the Norton Shakespeare, the willow leaf referenced by the Queen is "an emblem of mourning and of forsaken love" (Greenblatt, 407), and thus again symbolizes accordingly. Ophelia's tragic death is mourned by all who are present, as is the "forsaken love" lost by Hamlet.

Interestingly, the "long purples", referenced by the Queen as "dead-men's fingers" a mere two lines later (IV.vii.142) refer to what we now know as the purple orchid. The cultural connotation of "dead men's fingers" conjures up imagery of lifeless hands reaching upward from beyond the grave. Ophelia's gruesome death certainly retains elements of the morbid and macabre. Moreover, the abundance of flowers present, each retaining vastly different colors and representations, serves to further illustrate the number of complex and overpowering emotions from which Ophelia suffered, leading up to her untimely death.

It is worth final note that, given his authorial creativity, Shakespeare could have chosen to grant Ophelia any number of spoken lines in which to convey her emotional state and love for Hamlet to the audience and to those characters with whom she interacts. However, Shakespeare's repeated use of floral imagery, working figuratively to develop Ophelia's emotional persona and character qualities, serves to describe her to the audience or reader all the more. There is no need for vocal dialogue when such beautifully descriptive imagery is present.

References

Greenblatt, Stephen , Walter Cohen, and Jean Howard . The Norton Shakespeare Histories . London: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1995.

Kerr, Jessica . Shakespeare's Flowers . New York: Johnson Printing, 1969.