Flowers of Flowers of The handmaid’s taleThe handmaid’s tale

English 4 Honors

tuliptulipcommon name from the Turkish word for gauze (with which turbans were wrapped)

yellow tulips symbolizing cheerful thoughts

white conveying forgiveness

purple representing royalty

a Turkish legend may be responsible for the red tulip's symbolism. The story goes that a prince named Farhad was love struck by a maiden named Shirin.  When Farhad learned that Shirin had been killed, he was so overcome with grief that he killed himself - riding his horse over the edge of a cliff.  It's said that a scarlet tulip sprang up from each droplet of his blood, giving the red tulip the meaning "perfect love."

irisiris

faith

wisdom

cherished friendship

hope

valor

promise in love

bleeding heartbleeding heart

undying love

This story tells of a prince who tries to win the heart of a beautiful maiden by giving her gifts. With each gift, two of the petals are removed. Despite his attempts, the maiden continues to refuse the prince, and so he pierces himself through the heart – the heart having been formed with the discarded petals, the knife with the green stamen.

symbols of both Jesus and Mary, united in redemptive and co-redemptive sacrifice

lilylilyDerived from the Greek word “leiron,” (generally assumed to refer to the white Madonna lily), the lily was so revered by the Greeks that they believed it sprouted from the milk of Hera, the queen of the gods.

white lilies symbolize chastity and virtue – and were the symbol of the Virgin Mary’s purity and her role of Queen of the Angels

Peruvian lilies, or alstroemeria, represent friendship and devotion

white stargazer lilies express sympathy and pink stargazer lilies represent wealth and prosperity.

lilies of the valley symbolize humility and devotion

lilies symbolize that the soul of the departed has received restored innocence after death

peoniespeoniesOne legend has it that the peony is named after Paeon, a physician to the gods, who received the flower on Mount Olympus from the mother of Apollo.

Another tells the story of that same physician who was “saved” from the fate of dying as other mortals by being turned into the flower we know today as the peony.

peonies are known as the flower of riches and honor

peonies embody romance and prosperity

are regarded as an omen of good fortune and a happy marriage

carnationcarnationwhite carnations suggest pure love and good luck

light red symbolizes admiration

dark red represents deep love and affection

purple carnations imply capriciousness

pink carnations carry the greatest significance, beginning with the belief that they first appeared on earth from the Virgin Mary’s tears – making them the symbol of a mother’s undying love.

BibliographyBibliography

• “Bleeding Heart Flower Pictures & Meaning.” Flowersinfo.org. Web. 5 February 2012.

• “Iris Flower Meaning.” Living Arts Originals. Living Arts Enterprises, LLC, 2010. Web. 5 February 2012.

• “The Meaning and Symbolism of Carnation.” teleflora. Teleflora, 2012. Web. 5 February 2012.

• “The Meaning and Symbolism of Lilies.” teleflora. Teleflora, 2012. Web. 5 February 2012.

• “The Meaning and Symbolism of Peonies.” teleflora. Teleflora, 2012. Web. 5 February 2012.

• “The Meaning and Symbolism of Tulip.” teleflora. Teleflora, 2012. Web. 5 February 2012.

• Stokes, John S. Jr. “Reparation Through Flowers.” Mary’s Garden. The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, 2009. Web. 5 February 2012.