In the play of Hamlet, losing one's head is a common theme that appears in some of the main characters. Ophelia, Hamlet's former lover, completely loses her mind and becomes incompetent. The small window of time between Ophelia losing her mind and drowning proves to be an interesting read within the novel. In Act IV Ophelia's madness is fully demonstrated. As Ophelia experiences this mental breakdown, she hands out flowers to the people in the castle who seem best suited to their embodied meaning. On the surface there appear to be a few lines that can be overlooked in the play, but obviously Shakespeare creates subtle, underlying symbolic meanings in almost every line. Ophelia's flowers were lines designed to provide a deeper look into her character and provide insight into her emotions. Although Shakespeare turned Ophelia into a madwoman towards the end of her life, each of the six flowers that Ophelia gives has symbolism towards her character and how she feels. The initial flower that Ophelia offers is rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis. Ophelia begins by saying: “There's rosemary, that's for the memory; pray, love, remember…” (7) This statement clearly shows the symbolic meaning of rosemary which is remembrance, but does not reveal its other meaning which is faithfulness. For centuries, rosemary has been used to help memory loss. For example, in ancient Greece people wore rosemary garlands on their heads to improve memory. Rosemary was also used in many different ways in traditional Greek weddings. Additionally, in the medical field there are several old and new uses for this herb. “In fact, rosemary was once thought to be a cure for poor digestion, migraines, joint disorders and muscle pain. I… middle of the paper… back to “innocence”. This last flower was also given to Gertrude. Ophelia uses this flower just as she did with fennel. She is sarcastic again and intends to tell the queen that she is not innocent. He makes her actions especially rude by adding the comment to give her a viola instead. Ophelia is a strange character in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". Although she was originally sane, Shakespeare transformed her into a much more complex character. This madness forms the perfect canvas for this floral scene. Ophelia proves to have deeper meanings for each flower and emerges in the story as a sarcastic woman. Furthermore, this colorfully illustrates Ophelia's feelings towards Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude. Through these symbolic representations Shakespeare manages to give greater depth to the story, as does the character of Ophelia by using flowers.