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
Ophelia Settle Egypt Ophelia Settle Egypt Ophelia Settle Egypt (1903-1984) was a social worker and sociologist who conducted some of the first interviews with former slaves. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and from Columbia University School of Social Work. She was a researcher for the black sociologist Charles S. Johnson at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1928-1930 where she conducted one hundred interviews with elderly former slaves. Her interviews were part of Charles Johnson’s 1968 book “Unwritten History of Slavery: Autobiographical Accounts of Negro Ex-Slaves.” She studied medicine and sociology at Washington University on a scholarship, but had to receive