To Laertes, she gives rosemary, for remembrance, and pansies, for thought, suggesting both their shared history and her lost faculties.
First she goes to Laertes, her brother, 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.
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.
Pansies: thoughts; given to Laertes. Fennel: flattery; given to Claudius or Gertrude.
Ophelia offers rue to Queen Gertrude and keeps some for herself, with two different intentions. The queen “must wear [her] rue with a difference,” meaning as a token of repentance while Ophelia will wear her in regret at the loss of both her father and her lover.
Their particular form of madness was more related to hysteria -- an affliction which was considered to be particularly feminine. Clinically speaking, Ophelia's behavior and appearance are characteristic of the malady the Elizabethans would have diagnosed as female love-melancholy, or erotomania.
A red poppy floats near Ophelia's hand, a symbol of sleep and death. Despite her saying that there were no violets, we can see she wears a necklace of them. Fritillary, symbols of sorrow, also appear. In Act 4, Scene 5 we hear Queen Gertrude's description of Ophelia's death.
Pansy flowers are traditionally seen as symbols of love – both romantic and platonic. In Victorian floriography, pansies often represented forbidden love between secret lovers. Pansies also symbolize qualities like compassion, remembrance, and nostalgia. Pansies also embody thoughtfulness.
The insult "pansy" actually comes from the French "pensée", which is the past tense of "to think", but is also a feminine reflexive. This term came about in the mid-15th century and essentially it was used to negatively describe a man who thinks too much, "like a woman" .
Pansies Symbolize Love and Remembrance
Pansies are a symbol of love and affectionate thoughts (their name is thought to derive from the French word for thought).
Detailed Solution. The correct answer is 'Violets'. In Act 4, following the death of Polonius, his daughter Ophelia goes mad.
At Ophelia's funeral, Queen Gertrude sprinkles flowers on Ophelia's grave ("sweets to the sweet,") and says she wished Ophelia could h…
More Ophelia Flower Meanings
Daisy symbolizes innocence, and so she says, "There is no innocence here." She does not give them violets either, the symbol for fidelity or faithfulness.
Laertes' love for Ophelia and duty to Polonius drive him to passionate action, while Hamlet's love for Gertrude and duty to King Hamlet drive him to passionate inaction.
History of its symbolism
Since ancient times, the aromatic herb rosemary has been believed to improve your memory. It's an ancient symbol of fidelity and remembrance. So it's a fitting commemorative symbol to help us remember those who served and those who died.
Rue is well known for its symbolic meaning of regret and it has sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works.
Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man. Offensive. a weak, effeminate, and often cowardly man.
offensive. a weak, effeminate, and often cowardly man.
pat·sy ˈpat-sē plural patsies. : a person who is easily manipulated or victimized : pushover.
Pansies are beautiful flowers that come in a variety of hues, including rich yellow, blue, purple, and white. They're easy to grow – just feed and water them regularly, and don't forget to deadhead them. Pansies bloom from early spring to late fall, and they're especially attractive to bees.
In some cultures, purple pansies are a symbol of love – the color itself is associated with passion and romance. Purple pansy blossoms were originally used to symbolize both the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. But today the flower is most commonly linked with love, specifically romantic love.
Pansy blooms are single with five petals that are rounded in shape. Pansy flowers have one of three basic color patterns. Blooms can be single, clear color, such as yellow or blue. A second pattern is a single color having black lines radiating from its center.
Ophelia's final words are addressed to either Hamlet, or her father, or even herself and her lost innocence: “And will a not come again? / No, no, he is dead, / Go to thy death-bed, / He never will come again. / … / God a mercy on his soul. And of all Christian souls. God buy you.” Next, she drowns herself.
Ophelia's drowning is the consummate representation of an eternal retreat into the feminine, trading an individual voice for eternal silence in union with feminine essence. In turn, her death expresses the danger of reducing an individual to his or her gender and disregarding the voice of the marginalized.
Claudius' command at inquest, he argues, should grant her all the rites of a Christian burial. The priest refuses, saying that, because she committed suicide, he must deny Ophelia the requiem mass and other trappings of a Christian burial, even though Ophelia will be buried on sacred ground.