Introduction
This website will go into detail about the history of the language of flowers and use of it in the play Hamlet. This website will also give brief meanings to many different types of flowers that may have been used to communicated in the Elizabethan era. Click on the Language of Flowers tab at the top of the screen for background information and history of the language of flowers. Click the Use of Flowers in Hamlet tab at the top of the screen for examples of the language of flowers within Hamlet and explanations of the various symbolic meanings to the flowers used or click the Symbolic Meanings of Flowers tab for a list of different flowers with symbolic meanings.
Flowers in the Modern Day
In the modern day flowers represent many different emotions, hidden meanings and jesters. People use flowers at weddings to represent new beginnings and happiness and at funerals or grave stones to represent honour and remembrance. Flowers are used at special celebrations such as anniversaries, graduations and birthdays to congratulate, show love and simply celebrate. Flowers are even given to show an apology. People use flowers to communicate everyday and have been for thousands of years. Even in the Elizabethan era, flowers were used to communicate and express ones feelings. This language of flowers was adopted into the world of literature and is extremely evident in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Continue reading through this website to understand the history of the language of flowers that is still worldwide used today.