Act 4 Scene 7: Lines 190-208

There is a willow grows aslant a brook

That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream.

There with fantastic garlands did she come

Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,

That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,

But our cold maids do “dead men’s fingers” call them.

There, on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds

Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke,

When down her weedy trophies and herself

Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,

And mermaid-like a while they bore her up,

Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds

As one incapable of her own distress,

Or like a creature native and indued

Unto that element. But long it could not be

Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,

Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay

To muddy death.

Throughout the play, Ophelia is spurned by Hamlet, and she progressively spirals into insanity after the betrayal of his love and the murder of her father.  In Act Four, Scene Five, Ophelia seems to reach the apotheosis of her delirium, as she addresses the king and queen by crooning her heartbroken songs. In actuality, Ophelia is conscious of her madness, and painfully aware of her agony, as the songs detail the events of Hamlet’s betrayal. In Act Four, Scene Seven, Ophelia winds up dead, leaving the readers to wonder if it is an accident or a suicide. But, through floral symbolism and religious implications, Shakespeare makes it apparent that her death is purposeful, and it is used as the means to her freedom from madness, faithlessness, and a connection to Hamlet.

Queen Gertrude recounts the events leading to Ophelia’s death in great detail, specifically the natural elements that she had surrounded herself with. She begins by stating that near where Ophelia had been, there was a “willow that grows askant the brook” (4.7.190). The willow often symbolizes strength, stability, or duty with its large and sturdy stature, but it can also relate to sadness with its drooping branches. The appearance of a willow here can take on two different meanings, both with the ability to tie into her death. The first could be a representation of Hamlet, a twisted tree who departed from stability or sanity. The second could represent Ophelia’s growing depression that resulted from her distance from her roots and a loss of strength. As the story progresses, it seems more likely that Ophelia’s death can be entirely related to Hamlet, as the plants are attributed with masculine pronouns and the symbols represent his betrayal of her. Another line details “his hoar leaves in the glassy stream” (4.7.191), giving the willow a dull grey and masculine image. This would be representative of the reflection of Hamlet’s madness and impurity reflected onto the pure Ophelia, leading to her loss of self. Ophelia then begins building a mourning garland, like those at a funeral, seemingly for herself. It is made of “crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples” (4.7.193), in which each flower is tied to its own important symbolism: crowflowers with ingratitude, nettles with a stinging sensation, daisies with innocence or virginity, and long purples with sexual love. She is lamenting her own story, the one in which Hamlet had taken her virginity then spurned her, leaving her sullied and unappreciated. Hamlet “boughs her coronet weeds” (4.7.197) and is the “envious silver” (4.7.198) that broke, meaning that he is the crown, or noose, of weeds that has been dragging her down. And in the tale of her death, she is physically pulled down by these jealous weeds, dedicating her misery to him. Hamlet is the one responsible for pulling “the poor wretch from her melodious lay to muddy death” (4.7.2017-208) when he dragged her from purity and sanity, causing her to commit suicide. Her death gave her freedom from the impurity that Hamlet had thrust on her.