VIOLET

2nd May 2024

Photo Credit: seven75 (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

No. Nor is it meet he should, for, though I speak it to you

I think the King is but a man as I am. The violet smells to him

as it doth to me. The element shows to me as it doth to me.

All his senses have but human conditions.

His ceremonies laid by, in his nakeness he appears but a man,

And though his affections are higher mounted than ours,

Yet when they stoop, they stoop with the like wing.

KING HENRY: Henry V, Act 4, Scene 1

VIOLET (Sweet Violet: Viola odorata)

In the quotation above, the scene where Henry V visits his troops in disguise the night before the battle of Agincourt, the Violet is an everyman flower. It can be enjoyed by everyone no matter their status or wealth. Shakespeare uses the Violet around 17 times in his works and is usually represents hope, new beginnings, spring but also the fragility of beauty and life.

For a fuller description of the Violets in Shakespeare and their cultural significance please read the “Willows and Violets: Sorrow and Hope” blog on this website.

As well as the native Sweet Violet there are several other native Violet species in the UK including the Common Dog Violet, the Marsh Violet, the Hairy Violet and the Fen Violet. Violets are closely related to Pansies.

More Information

Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) Plant Atlas 2020: Sweet Violet

Dawson, J. C. 1921 Toulouse in the Renaissance; the Floral Games; University and Student Life: Etienne Dolet (1532-1534) View Publication in Archive.org

Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Meagher, J. 2007 Botanical Imagery in European Painting: Visit Met Museum Article

Nature of Shakespeare: Willows and Violets, Sorrow and Hope