schively] PLANTS MENTIONED IN SHAKESPEARE 



383 



Rue 



"I must have saffron to color the warden pies." 



The Winter's Tale. IV— 3— 48. 



Rue — a plant not native to England, probably introduced from 



the Continent. It has beautiful, glaucous foliage, but possesses 



a bad, penetrating odor. It is a member 



of the Rutaceae; the ailanthus tree, 



well-known to us, also is classed here. 



This tree also has a rank smell. 



On account of this property, rue was 



planted in gardens as a protection from 



the inroads of snakes and toads; for it 



was said to be efficacious in keeping 



away these animals from devouring 



certain plants, especially sage, of which 



they were very fond. It would also 



serve as an antidote when one was 



bitten by a venomous beast. Then, 



too, it was said to quicken one's powers 



of vision. In some manner the plant 



became associated with the thought 



of sorrow or repentance. When Ophelia says to the Queen: 



"There's rue for you; and here's some for me; we may call it herb-grace o' 

 Sundays: O you must wear your rue with a difference." 



She probably refers to this thought, indicating that sorrow 

 was in her heart ; but repentance should be in the queen's. But— 

 "herb-grace." Folk-lore assists us somewhat. A popular notion 

 at one time was known as the doctrine of signatures. This is 

 frequently associated with plants and their medicinal properties. 

 Should the leaves on the root show a shape resembling some organ, 

 immediately the finder would say, for example, here is a leaf 

 shaped like the liver, hence here is a natural remedy for the treat- 

 ment of any disease or derangement of that organ. Perhaps 

 in regard to rue, the people argued in somewhat a similar manner. 

 Here is a plant of very bad odor; such a one must belong to 

 witches or evil spirits. So a person considered bewitched or 

 possessed of an evil spirit received the following treatment. 

 He was taken to church on a Sunday, and in a special part of the 

 service, the priest waved the plant over the person, or sprinkled 

 him with water in which rue had been steeped, at the same time 

 using prayers. Hence ' ' herb-grace o ' Su ndays . ' ' This expression 

 occurs five times in Shakespeare's plays. 



