Ruta graveolens the isolation of the furanocoumarin chalepensin. The essential oil of "R. graveolens" contains two main constituents, undecan-2-one (46.8%) and nonan-2-one (18.8%). The bitter taste of its leaves led to rue being associated with the (etymologically unrelated) verb "rue" "to regret". Rue is well known for its symbolic meaning of regret and it has sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works. It is one of the flowers distributed by the mad Ophelia in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (IV.5): It was planted by the gardener in "Richard II" to mark the spot where the Queen wept upon hearing news of Richard's capture (III.4.104–105):
Hamlet in performance "Hamlet" has been adapted for a variety of media. Translation have sometimes transformed the original dramatically. Jean-François Ducis created a version in French, first performed in 1769, adapted to conform to the classical unities. Hamlet survives at the end. The French composer Ambroise Thomas created an operatic "Hamlet" in 1868, using a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on an adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is rarely performed but contains a famous mad scene for Ophelia. The plot of "Hamlet" has been also been adapted into films that deal with updated versions of the themes of the