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 Seriously ill from AIDS at the time, Charleson died seven weeks after his last performance. Fellow actor and friend, Sir Ian McKellen, said that Charleson played Hamlet so well it was as if he had rehearsed the role all his life, and the performance garnered other major accolades as well, some even calling it the definitive Hamlet performance. In Australia, a production of Hamlet was staged at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney in 1994 starring notable names including Richard Roxburgh as Hamlet, Geoffrey Rush as Horatio, Jacqueline McKenzie as Ophelia and David Wenham as Laertes. The critically acclaimed production