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Christopher Ha Period 6 Ophelia Flower Essay There are times when one may feel that words are

either too insufficient or risky, even to the point of dangerous, when trying to convey a message. One such instance can be found in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, in the scene which Ophelia delivers flowers to the people around the room. Although in a seemingly manic state and having erratic behavior, Ophelia's message behind the flowers offer much insight about how she feels towards the other characters. The flowers also serve as symbols of remembrance but also an indicator that the fear of death is still alive even in those resolute on death. Through the use of the symbolic meanings of the flowers, Ophelia is able to say what she could not have spoken in a manner that is both subtle, yet profound. Ophelia's use of the daisy, columbine and fennel can be attributed to Claudius and Gertrude. While the daisy and fennel represents innocence and flattery, Ophelia uses it in a sarcastic way, mocking them for lack of innocence and grandiose living. This mockery is punctuated with the columbine, a flower representative of infidelity and foolishness. These flowers clearly show Ophelia's dislike towards the King and Queen. Grief-stricken and distressed, Ophelia may feel as though her father's death rests upon the King and Queens shoulders and thus, uses the flowers to express her anger. In contrast to the bitterness shown towards the King and Queen, Ophelia gives her brother Laertes rosemary and pansies, symbolic of love, devotion, and remembrance. This reveals that Ophelia trusts and confides in her brother. This could also be seen earlier on in the play, which Ophelia expresses her concern for Laertes going off to France. Rue, symbolic of repentance, she takes for herself, indicating that she feels as though because she loved the man that killed her father, that she must repent for it. The rosemary and pansy can also be interpreted as a way of saying good-bye and Remember me. Because Ophelia dies shortly afterward, they could have been foreshadowing Ophelia's death, making it a suicide. Although Ophelia had already planned on suicide, the very act of giving out the flowers reveals that she was still afraid of death. The flowers act as a final testament of who she was. They are the reminders of what she had to say before she died and are tokens of her essence. Death is not complete destruction--to be forgotten is the last and most complete stage of destruction, and to evade that, Ophelia gives out the flowers in a fashion that is to be remembered. Her actions show the complex interplay between the themes of remembrance and death, how closely intertwined they are, and how the fear of death and manifest itself in many different ways. Through the symbolic language of flowers, Ophelia is able express her feelings towards the other characters without the explicitness of words. She is able to express her bitter anger to the King and Queen as well as her love and farewell to her brother. And though she was resolute about her own demise, the flowery offerings expose her longing for remembrance and thus the fear of death. Even if one claims to have no fear of death, Ophelia can serve as an example of how deep the fear of death and truly run.

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