She may be sending Laertes a message with this gift. Fennel is said to have symbolized flattery and adultery. Columbines were for ingratitude, adultery, faithlessness, or deceived lovers. (The fennel and columbine may have been for Gertrude, she had been unfaithful.
Although Ophelia states that rosemary is for remembrance, it is also a symbol of death and mourning, and so foreshadows her impending death. The flowers, herbs and plants that Ophelia mentions and gives to the other characters are similarly full of symbolic meaning.
Why? because daisies are the symbol of innocence and gentleness. Ophelia thinks that there is no one in the court of Denmark who might be considered innocent and gentle. So, Ophelia was not just giving some random flowers but she was giving strong messages and accusing them.
Rosemary symbolizes remembrance and faithfulness, and Ophelia gives this plant to her brother, Laertes. Laertes returns home to learn that their father Polonius is dead, and Ophelia wants him to determine who committed the murder.
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.
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: the symbol for adultery; the symbol for genuine repentance of all transgressions for women; the symbol for everlasting suffering Rue is very bitter. Ophelia then walks over to the Queen and says, "There's rue for you; and here's some for me. We may call it herb of grace a Sunday's.
People can stage Hamlet that way, but there is no evidence in the script that Ophelia is pregnant. The best evidence that she has had sex with Hamlet is the song she sings that ends: “Quoth she, 'Before you tumbled me, you promised me to wed. '
Pansies traditionally represent thoughts. Shakespeare confirms this symbolic meaning by having Ophelia say, "there is pansies, that's for thoughts" when handing the flowers out.
Daisy: Ophelia picks up and sets down the daisy without giving it to anyone. This is interesting because the daisy is the symbol of innocence and gentleness. Evidently Ophelia thought there was no place for innocence in the Danish court anymore.
When Hamlet finally does die, Horatio is holding him, and gives him a farewell of infinite tenderness: 'Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest' (5.2. 397-98).
An unkempt and dishevelled Ophelia hands out imaginary flowers to her brother, the King and Queen. Mad with grief over the loss of her father, she says her violets withered when her father died. Here, the flower is associated with death and a young woman's sorrow over losing a loved one.
The main reason that Gertrude does not want to see Ophelia is because she (Gertrude) feels guilty over the fact that her son Hamlet killed Ophelia's father, Polonius, and because Polonius was buried quickly and without much formality.
A tragic case of corruption is found with Ophelia, she is denied freedom of choice and treated more like a mannequin than an actual person. Although a treatment like this might not have been uncommon for a young girl at the time, she is obviously driven mad by Hamlet as well as her own family.
What doesn't Gertrude want to see Ophelia? She is feeling guilty that her son Hamlet killed her father Polonius. Why does Gertrude decide to speak with Ophelia? Ophelia could make false accusations about her fathers death and spread rumors if she doesn't speak to someone.
Bidding his sister, Ophelia, farewell, he cautions her against falling in love with Hamlet, who is, according to Laertes, too far above her by birth to be able to love her honorably. Since Hamlet is responsible not only for his own feelings but for his position in the state, it may be impossible for him to marry her.
Conception is a bless- ing, but as your daughter may conceive А friend, look to't'' (2.2. 184–86). By terming Polonius a fishmonger (2.2. 174), Hamlet makes Ophelia a fishmonger's daughter.
Some see Ophelia's death as an accident; others see it as a suicide resulting from the accumulation of a series of unfortunate events: her rejection by her boyfriend, her father's murder, and her possible pregnancy.
Ophelia goes mad because her father, Polonius, whom she deeply loved, has been killed by Hamlet.
It was a common herb believed to keep away witches, and that folk use evolved into the Catholic Church's practice of dipping branches of rue into Holy water and sprinkling it over the heads of parishioners as a blessing, which earned it a common name for the plant of “herb of grace.”
Act 4, scene 5 Reports reach Gertrude that Ophelia is mad. Ophelia enters singing about death and betrayal. After Ophelia has gone, Claudius agonizes over her madness and over the stir created by the return of an angry Laertes.
On ANZAC Day, the wearing of small sprigs of rosemary in the coat lapel, pinned to the breast or held in place by medals is thus synonymous with remembrance and commemoration.
Forget-me-nots: Remembrance.
The aroma of rosemary has been linked to improving mood, clearing the mind, relieving stress and lowering cortisol levels (including those with chronic anxiety or stress hormone imbalances). Rosemary is known to rapidly reduce cortisol levels by simply just smelling it - alleviating stress in the body.