The Language of Flowers was a language created as a means of communication between wealthy, educated women of the Elizabethan era. There is no specific date or name of the person who created it. It was/still is a very elegant and discreet means of communication between lovers and friends. If one of these bouquets or “messages” fell into the wrong hands it was often overlooked as a female pastime and was considered madness. As our modern technology and language evolve, the original meaning of flowers is lost or changed in some way. As these meanings change, so do Ophelia's words to Laertes and Queen Gertrude's description or explanation of Ophelia's death. These changes have a great impact on the translation or meaning of the plot of this play. “There is rosemary (1), that is the memory; pray, love, remember; and there are pansies (2), those for thoughts…There is fennel (3) for you, and columbines (4); there's rue (5) for you and here's some for me; we can call it the herb of grace on Sundays (5). Oh, you must wear your rue (5) with difference. There is a daisy (6). I would give you violets (7), but they all withered when my father died” (Act 4, scene 5, lines 180-181, 183-187).(1)Rosemary means memory. (2) Pansies mean thoughts. (3) Fennel has two meanings, (a) worthy of all praise and (b) strength. (4) Culombine means madness. (5) Rue is also known as the herb of Sunday grace, but it has only one meaning, contempt. (6) Daisy has two different meanings, (a) innocence or (b) false promises of love. (7) Purple has different meanings depending on the type and its color, (a) blue means loyalty, (b) dame means vigilance (c) Sweet means modesty and... center of the card... .this could be the only translation we have of these flowers, but they can be read in different ways. I have included them all to show the possible full meaning of these little passages from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. It is up to the reader to interpret the flowers as they wish and perhaps one day there will be a true translation. Works Cited http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=MobHaml.sgm&images=images/modeng&data =/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=16&division=div2http://www.mushroomexpert.com /xylaria_polymorpha.htmlhttp://theforsheyfour.blogspot.com/http://www.earthlypursuits.com/FlwrsPer/FlowerYear/ FloraDialA-D.htmhttp://www.arenaflowers.com/facts/flowers/flower_meanings/columbines_flowershttp:/ /www.answers.com/dead%20men's%20fingershttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/concerthttp:// dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pretension