Ophelia goes to King Claudius and hands him fennel and columbines saying, "There is fennel for you and columbines" (Shakespeare). Audiences in Shakespeare's time would have understood the true meaning of Fennel. In the Elizabethan period, showing a fagot automatically triggered thoughts of flattery, male adultery and stupidity in people in the audience. Also, once fennel is harvested, it will wilt very quickly. In this, Ophelia knew that the new king loved flattery, but would not notice the fact of the flower's rapid death. Even the old saying "Sow fennel, sow pain" (Eriksson) confirms this prediction of the future. For the audience, although Ophelia is not expressing the same message, they see that the King will soon die just like the flower she is to him. Ophelia, by telling King Claudius about the fennel, is simply openly confessing her impending suicide, without being discovered. He speaks so openly that the actual words he speaks are overlooked. The other flower that Ophelia gives to Claudio is the Columbine. Columbine is considered the flower of deceived lovers, a symbol of male adultery and lack of faith (Bethany Lutheran College). Columbine was a kind of fun item for men, which was the old double standard in those days. It was brave of Ophelia to first flatter the king and then accuse him of stupid adultery. When we remember that the King has the power to take her life at any moment, showing all the audacity that Ophelia reveals, even at the moment in which Ophelia reveals her garden to the people, the confessions and chatter that Ophelia makes to the King are irrelevant The two flowers, given to King Claudius, represent a double strength. The number two symbolizes pairs of anything (Talisman). In the circumstances that they are