Her Weedy Trophies!

My Ophelia-themed painting is moving along and some of her ''weedy trophies'' are coming to life. 

Hamlet's mother Gertrude describes Ophelia's death and here we have the willow tree top right from which Ophelia slipped while trying to crown the tree with a garland. I think I may have my own take on this, in Nordic countries (Hamlet is set in Denmark) Midsummer is celebrated by crowning a phallic looking tree with garlands (in Germany the May tree is crowned similarly) and it is associated with fertility rites. 

Gertrude mentions nettles, rue, fennel, long purples, daisies and crow flowers and all are slowly creeping in. Of course the audience of Elizabethan plays knew the language of flowers very well and would recognise the symbolism behind each singular herb or flower. 

The weeping willow for example symbolises forsaken love and is often associated with death, daisies are a symbol of innocence and nettles pain. While alive and gone mad Ophelia hands out flowers and I'm trying to integrate these into the painting too. Wild fennel for flattery and Columbine for faithlessness/foolishness, Rosemary and pansies for thoughts and remembrance, rue for regrets, adultery, (it was well-known for its abortive properties). Ophelia calls rue ''herb of grace o' Sundays'', this is interesting, rue was associated with witchcraft and as an antidote the church took to blessing the congregation with branches of rue dipped in holy water. Pansies for lover's thoughts, violets for loyalty, chastity and death to the very young. So when we read Hamlet at school we thought Ophelia was just raving on about a bunch of flora but no she was making some very critical comments to the characters in the play. 

Hamlet and I never really got along .......I loved English lit at school but my characterisation of Hamlet was way off! As I believe in ghosts, it was no big deal for me to think that his dead father appearing as one was a major issue. Conflicts over partners that your parents didn’t like, normal (OK getting run through with a rapier was a bit brutal) and as a teenager, going mad .... can happen! So I described Hamlet as a normal guy with a few minor problems! My English teacher’s comment .................... ''Kerry, you have managed to minimalise one of the greatest and most complex characters in English Literature!''