How to Read a Boquet

1
How to Read a Boquet
2

• 1. Ophelia in her distraught state, hair
  streaming down her back, disheveled clothes,
  singing her senseless ditties or bawdy ballads is
  a mirror image of Hamlet. Find the lines that
  describe him thus earlier in the play. Compare
  them with the description of Ophelia in this
  scene.
• 2. Why does the gentle, convent-bred Ophelia in
  her madness sing such sweet songs?
• 3. When Laertes sees her now, he calls her "rose
  of May." What does he mean?

3
4. In her madness, Ophelia distributes her
bouquet to the appropriate people. Explain why
her choice is so apt.
Person Flower Appropriate because
Laertes 1.
Claudius 1. 2.
Gertrude 1. 2.
4

• 5. Why must Gertrude wear her rue with a
  difference?
• 6. What significance is there in Ophelia saying,
  " ... I would give you some violets. but they all
  withered when my father died .... "?
• 7. In Act IV, scene 7, Gertrude describes
  Ophelia's death to Laertes. In climbing too far
  out on the delicate branches of a willow tree
  over a brook, Ophelia fell into the water laden
  with garlands of wild flowers and weeds. Why is
  the willow tree a symbolic instrument of her
  death?

5
8. Explain the significance of each flower/weed
in Ophelias garland and show how each reflects
her life in the play.
Flower Significance Relation to Ophelia
a. crowflowers (buttercups)
b. Flowing nettles
c. daisies
d. long purples (early orchids)