Ophelia: "There's fennel for you, and columbines" (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5)

William Wynne Ryland|Giovanni Battista Cipriani|William Shakespeare|John Walker

1787 · Stipple engraving, printed in brown ink · Drawings and Prints

Ophelia appears here in act 4 of Shakespeare's play, her mind unhinged by her father's murder. Singing and crowned with weeds, she offers herbs and flowers to her brother, the queen and king. Soon after this scene, she will fall into a brook while picking flowers and drown. Ryland's print is based on a drawing by Cipriani.

Artist

William Wynne Ryland|Giovanni Battista Cipriani|William Shakespeare|John Walker

Date

1787

Medium

Stipple engraving, printed in brown ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917