Fennel
The next flower that Ophelia gives out in her infamous monologue is fennel.
According to Fez Inkwright’s Folk Magic and Healing: An Unusual History of Everyday Plants, fennel (foeniculum vulgare) was also called Marathon by Ancient Greeks derived from the word “mariano” which means “to grow thin.” It was very popular amongst athletes who believed it gave them strength and victorious athletes would wear wreaths of fennel.
Fennel also appears many times throughout Greek mythology. One of it’s most popular appearances is in the myth of Prometheus. Prometheus was a Titan who gave fire to humans, carrying it from heaven to earth on a stalk of fennel. He was later punished by the god Zeus who chained Prometheus up and had an eagle come and eat his liver every day for eternity.
In Britain, fennel was used to repel evil spirits from entering the home. Fennel was often hung over doorways and windows, it’s seeds were even pushed into keyholes so that the protection from the plant would remain after the key ground down the seeds.
In Christianity fennel was often used during fasting periods though it only delayed hunger rather than stopping it completely. This lead to the phrase “to give fennel” being used in 16th century Italy which meant “to give someone an empty compliment.”
In floriography, Fennel generally took on the meaning of flattery, which makes it ironic that in many productions Ophelia typically gives fennel to Claudius or Gertrude (or sometimes both) when in her madness she isn’t looking to flatter the king and queen of Denmark. However fennel can also symbolize infidelity, which makes Ophelia giving it to Claudius and Gertrude much more symbolic.
What Else I’ve Been Doing:
Reading: Currently reading Bride by Ali Hazelwood.
Listening To: Melanie Martinez
Watching: Season Two of Six Feet Under, Season Two of What We Do In the Shadows, One Pace (Little Garden).
Sources:
Boeckmann, Catherine. “Flower Meanings: The Language of Flowers.” Almanac.Com, Yankee Publishing, Inc., 6 June 2024, www.almanac.com/flower-meanings-language-flowers.
Burton, Elizabeth. “About Floriography & the Victorian Language of Flowers.” Design Dash, Design Dash, 26 Apr. 2024, designdash.com/2024/01/26/all-about-floriography-and-the-victorian-language-of-flowers/.
D’Arco, Linda. “Of Love and Flowers and...Hamlet?” Little Farmhouse Flowers, little farmhouse flowers, 4 Mar. 2023, www.littlefarmhouseflowers.com/blog/2017/2/13/of-love-and-flowers-and-hamlet.
Floraldictionary. “Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) - Strength, Worthy All Praise – @floraldictionary on Tumblr.” Tumblr, Tumblr, 14 June 2016, www.tumblr.com/floraldictionary/145918784030/fennel-foeniculum-vulgare-strength-worthy-all.
Inkwright, Fez. Folk Magic and Healing: An Unusual History of Everyday Plants. LIMINAL 11, 2019.
“Ophelias Flowers - Htsdc.Org.” Htsdc.Org, htsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/Ophelias-Flowers.pdf. Accessed 8 May 2023.
Shakespeare, William, and Eli Reynolds. Hamlet - the Pelican Shakespeare. Penguin Putnam Inc, 2016.
Whetstone, Stephanie. “The Language of Flowers.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, pwrites.princeton.edu/tools-and-insights/the-language-of-flowers/. Accessed 30 June 2024.