Flower girl of Shakespearian character (5)

I believe the answer is:

viola

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'flower' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'girl of shakespearian character' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'Vi' (short for Violet).
'of' becomes 'o''.
'shakespearian character' becomes 'la' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'vi'+'o'+'la'='VIOLA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for viola that I've seen before include "String quartet member" , "Pansy-like flower" , "Shakespeare heroine; instrument" , "String instrument of a range between the violin and cello" , "Sebastian's sister" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.