Ophelia what the other characters interpret as grief for her father. She talks in riddles and rhymes, and sings some "mad" and bawdy songs about death and a maiden losing her virginity. She exits after bidding everyone a "good night". The last time Ophelia appears in the play is after Laertes comes to the castle to challenge Claudius over the death of his father, Polonius. Ophelia sings more songs and hands out flowers, citing their symbolic meanings, although interpretations of the meanings differ. The only herb that Shakespeare gives Ophelia herself is rue; "...there's rue for you, and here's some for
Laertes (Hamlet) and lines are marked in the text, so 4.5.151–4 would be Act 4, Scene 5, lines 151 through 154. In addition an additional "through line number" allows unambiguous reference to any line (including stage directions and other text not traditionally assigned a line number). Laertes (Hamlet) Laertes is a character in William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". Laertes is the son of Polonius and the brother of Ophelia. In the final scene, he kills Hamlet with a poisoned sword to avenge the deaths of his father and sister, for which he blamed Hamlet. While dying of the same poison, he implicates King