The Image of Plants in Hamlet

Hugo described Shakespeare's works in Shakespeare's Biography: "In Shakespeare's works, birds are singing, shrubs are pulling leaves, and people are close to each other;" Clouds are falling, the weather is hot and cold, the morning bell is ringing, the morning is coming, the forest is whispering, and people are talking and laughing. "Not only the characters in Shakespeare's works have rich and wonderful lines, but everything in the world seems to be spiritual. Flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables play an important role in Shakespeare's works, sometimes symbolizing identity and alluding to characters, sometimes as vital plot props, and sometimes as a rendering agent for the dramatic atmosphere.

Shakespeare is very good at describing characters, and he can bring them to life in a few words. He also often uses the characteristics and symbolic meaning of plants to hint at the appearance, personality and emotion of the characters in the play. For example, Sir John Falstaff, a comedy character who appears many times, is often associated with cheap fruits and vegetables. In the first part of Henry IV, Sir Falstaff has a line: "My whole body is shriveled, just like a withered apple John." Falstaff is nearly 60 years old, with gray hair and fat figure, but he likes to be with young people and do some ridiculous things. John Apple is an excellent metaphor, not only because it has the same name as John Falstaff, but also those partially dehydrated apples that have been stored in the store for a winter. Although they are still edible, their appearance is not very attractive, just like Falstaff himself.

Falstaff's image is getting fuller and fuller in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the play, Mrs. Ford tricked him into hiding in the laundry basket and threw him into the ditch: "Let's teach this dirty pustule, this fat pumpkin with a smelly stomach, and let him know the difference between pigeons and old crows." Shakespeare compared Falstaff to a pumpkin, not only because of his similar appearance, but also because of his rudeness-pumpkin and bumpkin are homophonic.

As a symbol of virginity and innocence, daisies often appear in Shakespeare's plays to set off beautiful and innocent female characters. In the long narrative poem "The Humiliation of Lucretius", Shakespeare described Lucretius sleeping peacefully in the bedroom: "Her other slender hand hangs quietly by the bed, which looks even more white and beautiful against the light green sheets, like a daisy in April, revealing her feelings on the grassland, with a little sweat on her hand, like dew in the flowers at night."

In Hamlet, daisies appear in two descriptions related to Ophelia. One is that after Mr. Phil Jia went crazy because of his father's death, he placed all kinds of flowers in front of his father's grave: "... here is a daisy; I wanted to give you some violets, but when my father died, they all died. " The other is the death of O 'filia, who drowned in the water wearing a wreath of buttercups, nettles, daisies and orchids. The plants that Mr. filia brought to his father's grave also have rue, which means regret and sadness: "This is rue for you; I still have some here for myself; On Sunday, we might as well call it the grass of compassion. Ah! You can express your regret in a strange way. " wisecrack