A rose may be a rose in Gertrude Stein's pen, but in Shakespeare's work it can be given a variety of meanings—love, beauty, dynasty, fragrance, color, and danger. In an article, we described how Shakespeare's Sonnets gave the rose political connotations, making it a highly creative symbol. In fact, the rose is just one of many plants that Shakespeare mentions. He frequently used plants as metaphors in his poems and plays, including various flowers, fruits, grains, pastures, seeds, wild grasses, plants, herbs, spices, and vegetables, and there were about 170 kinds of rough statistics, and even professional horticulturists had to marvel at them.
The recently published Shakespeare Botanical Poems collects lines about plants from the works of this great writer, accompanied by exquisite illustrations of related plants, revealing to the reader the clues behind these plant riddles. Author Gretel Quail points out that Shakespeare's broad interest in botany and unparalleled rhetoric are closely linked to the era in which he lived. Queen Elizabeth I, who succeeded to the throne in 1558, was well-educated, peace-loving, and in order to calm the social upheavals of the time as much as possible, she sowed the seeds of a love of learning in England: poetry that incorporated classic works became popular, and a new form of entertainment, drama, emerged. The publishing industry has also entered a stage of overdrive, starting with the translation of Popular Books in Europe.
At the time, some of the early books on botany or herbs were written in Latin and Greek, so showing plants in the garden was also a way to show wisdom. As Queen Elizabeth's reign deepened, the thirst for botanical knowledge and techniques steadily increased, prompting the publication of a series of best-selling books, including William Turner's New Flora, the father of British botany, Thomas Hill's Beneficial Gardening, John Gerald's Flora (the last book is considered the main source of Shakespeare's profound botanical knowledge). This "green desire," along with the status, beauty, order, and magic it brings, is in the limelight.
In addition to the allegories of plants, Shakespeare was also familiar with the methods of planting, pruning and cultivating plants, as well as related folklore and hymns. It is conceivable that if Shakespeare had not become a playwright, he would have been a great botanist. It is also quite interesting to look at Saspiar's work from the particular perspective of plants. For example, is the poison mentioned in Hamlet a "mad tree root"? What about the "peony" in "The Tempest"? There are also some characters named after plants that are also like puzzles, such as Peter Konce (meaning quince) in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Costard (meaning a british apple variety) in "The Futility of Love", and the mysterious "Angelica" (meaning "Angelica" in Romeo and Juliet) How to understand?
The text may seem vague, but looking at what these plants look like may help to understand the meaning of Shakespeare's work. With the permission of the publisher, Interface Culture (ID: BooksAndFun) selected eight plant species and related lines from Shakespeare's Botanical Poems in order to present Shakespeare's side as a master gardener.
Shakespeare's Botanical Poems
[Beauty] Gretel Quarry / [American] June Hasegawa - Collins by Shang Xiaolei / Yu Tianyi Translation
Spring Tide / CITIC Publishing Group 2022-0101 Adonis Flower
So, from the pool of blood he sprinkled all over the ground,
A purple flower with a snow-white lattice was born,
Like his pale cheeks,
And the bright red blood beads that are clearly visible on it.
- Venus and Adonis
This flower has puzzled the academic community for centuries. Why? They believe that the flowers in Shakespeare's poems are the anemone flowers that appear in the original works of Venus and Adonis in Ovid's poems (Although Shakespeare always adjusts the original material), but the "purple flowers with snow-white lattice" grown from the blood of the dead Adonis do not conform to the characteristics of the anemone, but perfectly match the people who have a mother of flowers, that is, the snakehead shellfish or the turkey flower (the name was given by the Flemish botanist Lambert Doddens, Because the guinea fowl, which was called "turkey" in England at the time, has a similar pattern on its body). Pharmacist Noel Capelin introduced the flower from Orléans, France, around 1570, calling it Capelin Narcissus. Johann Gerald, the author of Flora, was so fond of the flower that he gave it the nickname "Narcissus" and placed it on the cover of his 1597 monumental work. Therefore, it appears in various literature of Shakespeare's contemporaneous period and is easily identifiable.
02 Bay /Laurel
Opening
Take away the ignorant dross of this writer's writing,
Don't let my laurel wither,
Let my masterpiece be degraded.
—— The opening statement of "Two Noble Relatives"
Clarence
When you were born,
Heaven has given you an olive branch and a laurel crown,
Bless you in peace and war.
— Henry VI Part II, Act IV, Scene VI
As a priestess of the Temple of Delphi and a favorite of the Apollo gods, the evergreen and shiny leaves of the laurel have long been associated with the crowns of the royal family, immortals, and the victorious side of the war. Italians have a superstition that if a country's laurel trees wither or die, it is a sign that there is about to be destroyed.
03 Burdock
Cordelia
The head was covered with foul-smelling chimneys and plough grass,
There are also burdock, parsley, nettle, beauty shirt and
A variety of wild grasses that grow in grain fields.
- King Lear, Act IV, Scene IV
Burgundy
Everywhere there are only abominable sour molds, rough thistles,
Spiny balls of round leaf grass and burdock.
— Henry V, Act V, Scene II
Although Cordelia refers to this weed in a contemptuous tone (it is spelled in a lot of ways), the plant is very attractive in its native (it can be used to dye hair red). However, burdock's dry, unopened buds can turn into intimidating balls of thorns, and the barbed spikes on the long, hard bracts can easily hang on to anything nearby, so it often symbolizes crazy fascination.
04 Cockle
Coriolanus
Because we are condescending and noble, we descend into the same league with them,
having sown with their own hands the bane of rebellion, wantonness and harassment,
If you condone them again,
Then these Mai Xian Ong will be even more rampant,
Jeopardize the power of our Senate.
- Coriolanus, Act III, Scene I
The jailer's daughter
Now at least two hundred girls are pregnant with his children—
Four hundred is a must,
But I kept it all a secret, as tight as the shell of a bird's cockle.
—— "Two Noble Relatives" Act IV, The First Scene
Ophelia (singing)
How do I identify a true lover?
Remember his fairy hat, his crutches, and a pair of straw shoes.
- Hamlet, Act IV, Scene V
As a flowering weed among the grasses, Mai Xian Ong has a delicate and charming appearance, but it is a poisonous plant. Similar to poisoned wheat, if mai xian ong appears in a crop field, it often means that it takes a lot of manual labor to remove it. The presence of Macecia can be used to symbolize some kind of natural depravity, which is why it appears in the gibberish of two mad girls in Shakespeare, Ophelia and the jailer's daughter. However, the word "cockle" also refers to a type of shell, and the "cockle" mentioned in the jailer's daughter's line should refer to the shell, not the plant.
05 Elder
Avilagus
Let the sorrow of the elderberry that smells of stink,
Unravel the withered roots of your flourishing vines!
- Act IV, Act II of "Sim Bailin"
Khorofonis
First of all, sir, you are older than me.
Balon
Yes, Judas was hanged from a elderberry tree.
- Act V, Act II of The Futility of Love
Williams
The little people were not happy with the king,
The power is like a paper bullet shot out of a elderberry toy gun!
— Henry V, Act IV, Scene I
shopkeeper
What to say, my Roman healer?
My Greek healer? My ElderBerry Healer?
- "Windsor's Merry Ladies" Act II, Scene III
This native British tree is common in forests and rugged wastelands, with its honey-like fragrant flowers and stinky baked leaves, which contrast. Shakespeare borrowed the legend that "Judas hung himself on this tree" and the fact that little boys often used the branches of this tree to make toy guns, and played word games in several plays. Elderberry is known as "nature's medicine box", so in "Windsor's Merry Ladies", the shopkeeper referred to Dr. Caius, in addition to calling him "Roman medical god" and "Greek medical saint", he also called him "elderberry healing soul". The word "Elder" also means older.
06 Gooseberry
Falstaff
All the talents that a person can get,
Under the envy of the world,
It's worthless like a gooseberry.
— Henry IV Part II, Act I, Scene II
Macbeth
The devil punishes you as black as a ball of charcoal,
You pale dog head!
Where did you get such a stupid look?
— Macbeth, Act V, Scene III
This garden shrub of the tea family is planted because it has a large, sweet fruit. The green gooseberry has nothing to do with the goose, so when Shakespeare uses the word "goose" for short for this plant, it can cause confusion, especially when he is just emphasizing the color of the fruit. However, because Shakespeare's phrases tend to have multiple meanings, "goose" may refer to this green berries, or it may refer to birds or prostitutes. "Gooseberry" is from French or Italian, and it may also be a mispronounced word for "Crossberry". The berry was revered during the plague and may have been the origin of the popular phrase "silly goose" during the May Festival.
07 Ivy
Adrianna
Don't let the crawling ivy,
Wild or lazy moss steal your rain dew sunshine!
They're pruned because no one is trying to prune them.
Can suck your juices to the fullest.
- The Comedy of Error, Act II, Scene II
Pirito
He had blond hair, tough and curly,
Thick as a tangled ivy,
Not moved by thunder.
- Act IV, Scene II of "Two Noble Relatives"
Ivy is a climbing plant native to the UK, and its winding habit is considered feminine. Its evergreen leaves are a symbol of "eternal immortality," but Shakespeare also uses its unquenched, suffocating spread of madness as a metaphor for human nature.
08 Rosemary
Pendita
These two bouquets of rosemary and rue are for you,
Their color and aroma do not dissipate in winter.
May God bless you both, and may you never be forgotten!
- "Winter's Tale" Act IV, Scene IV
Lawrence
Wipe away your tears,
Bring your rosemary
Put it on this beautiful corpse.
— Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene V
The Latin name rosemary "Rosmarinus" means dewdrops of the sea, as this versatile herb has a captivating aroma and can be eaten, medicinally used or used for makeup. When Shakespeare mentioned it, he mostly referred to it as a memory-related herb. Its aroma contributes to energy recovery and can enhance memory. Similar to plants with buds or button-shaped flowers, inserting rosemary in a buttonhole or pocket can make a couple's date more memorable. It also symbolizes memories of deceased relatives and friends, and some people even rub it on the top of the head to remind the hair to grow.
An excerpt from Shakespeare's Botanical Poems was published with the permission of the publisher.