Bard of Avon

Bard of Avon

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The Story of William Shakespeare

Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema
Illustrated by Diane Stanley

11/20/2019

W I L L OW / O S I E R - The traditional weeping willow we often picture doesn't actually arrive on the scene until c. 1700, but that hasn't stopped artists from painting poor Ophelia beside one. Her "pen-dant boughs" may have been the "crack willow" due to its branches' tendency to break suddenly. The Common Osier [Salix viminalis], with it's slightly narrower leaves, was interchangeably with WILLOW for basket weaving and garland making - wearing a Willow garland [or just singing about it,as Desdemona does] suggests greiving for lost love. In England, Willow was sometimes a stand-in on Palm Sunday for the Palm branches in church processions.

BOTANICAL
SHAKESPEARE

AN ILLUSTRATED
COMPENDIUM
of All the Flowers, Fruits, Herbs, Trees, Seeds, and Grasses Cited by the World's Greatest Playwright

-

GERIT QUEALY

ILLUSTRATED BY
SUMIE' HASEGAWA - COLLINS

FOREWORD BY
HELEN MIRREN

11/20/2019

Y E W - This native tree is a traditional symbol of mourning. It appears six times in Shakespeare [maybe seven, surrepitiously], always to do with death; its appearance onstage could be a harbinger of poisoning, such as Balthasar and Paris citing Yew trees in the churchyard, while in the nearby tomb Romeo drank poison. Its evergree foilage is fatal, as are the seeds [though not their red casing]. Yes is the strongest candidate for the H E B E N O N / H E B O N A poison in Hamlet.

BOTANICAL
SHAKESPEARE

AN ILLUSTRATED
COMPENDIUM
of All the Flowers, Fruits, Herbs, Trees, Seeds, and Grasses Cited by the World's Greatest Playwright

-

GERIT QUEALY

ILLUSTRATED BY
SUMIE' HASEGAWA - COLLINS

FOREWORD BY
HELEN MIRREN

Photos from Bard of Avon's post 11/20/2019
Spiritual Significance of Flowers - The Mother 11/20/2019

He will work you any Flower to the life, as like it
as if it grew in the very place;
and being a delicate perfumer
he will give you his perfect and natural Savour.

-from Sir Gyles Goosecappe, by George Chapman

Spiritual Significance of Flowers - The Mother Flowers bring a touch of eternity, joy and beauty which lie beyond the sorrows and cares of the human world. According to The Mother, apart...

11/20/2019

...tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in everything.

11/08/2019

All that glitters is not gold

William Shakespeare

Photos 11/08/2019
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