ACT IV, 7: THE DEATH OF OPHELIA
As soon as Claudius and Laertes have completed their scheme to kill Hamlet, Queen Gertrude appears and informs them that Ophelia has died (line 134). The mad Ophelia was apparently sitting upon a branch of a willow tree that bends down over a small river or stream. Ophelia, who is busy making garlands out of flowers as she sat on the branch, accidentally slips off and is swept by the current of the water. And, so, she has drowned. The reader should note that the willow tree was a symbol of mourning and forsaken love. The tree, then, is an appropriate setting for Ophelia’s death.