Cummings Guides Home..|..Contact This Site..|..Shakespeare Books
.
.
Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings © 2003
Revised in 2010.©
.
Type of Work
.......Venus and Adonis is narrative poemthat is, a poem that tells a storyabout the infatuation of Venus, the goddess of love, with a young mortal named Adonis. The poem contains 1,194 lines.
Dedication
.......Shakespeare dedicated Venus and Adonis to Henry Wriothesley, the Third Earl of Southampton. Wriothesley (1573-1624) was a patron of Shakespeare and other writers of the time. Although Wriothesley was a favorite at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, his association with the headstrong
Robert Devereux, the Second Earl of Essexanother fixture at courtled him to take part in Devereuxs 1601 rebellion against the queen. Wriothesley was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Source
.
.......Metamorphoses, by the Roman poet Ovid (full name, Publius Ovidius Naso).
Shakespeare may also have used Scillas Metamorphosis (1589), by Thomas Lodge., and Book III of The Faerie Queene (1591), by Edmund Spenser.
Publication
.......On May 18, 1593, the poem was entered in the Hall Book of the Worshipful Company of Stationers, the English government's pre-publication registry. It was published in a quarto edition in 1593 by Richard Field, a printer.
Setting
.......Shakespeare sets the story in a rural locale in ancient Greece in the age of myth, when the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus frequently interacted with human beings.
Rhyme Scheme
.......The rhyme scheme is ababcc in a six-line stanza, as demonstrated in the opening stanza of the poem:
..............A...Even as the sun with purple-colour'd face
..............B...Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,
..............A...Rose-cheek'd Adonis hied him to the chase;
..............B...Hunting he loved, but love he laugh'd to scorn;
..............C...Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
..............C...And like a bold-faced suitor 'gins to woo him.
Metric Format
.......Most of the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter, with five pairs of syllables (five feet) per line. Each pair consists of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable The following lines demonstrate this metric pattern:
.........1...... .... ...2........... ....3...............4...............5
"For SHAME,"..|..he CRIES,..|.."let GO,..|...and LET..|..me GO;
.......1.................2.................3...................4.................5
My DAY'S..|..de LIGHT..|..is PAST,..|..my HORSE..|..is
GONE,
......1.................2................3............4...............5
And 'TIS..|..your FAULT..|..I AM..|..be REFT..|..him SO:
.....1...............2..................3.....................4...............5
I PRAY..|..you HENCE,..|..and LEAVE..|..me HERE..|..a LONE;
.....1......... ...2.......................3....................4.............5
For ALL..|..my MIND,..|..my THOUGHT,..|..my BUS..|..y
CARE,
.....1............2..............3..................4..................5
Is HOW..|..to GET..|..my PAL..|..frey FROM..|..the MARE."
Summary of the Poem
By Michael J. Cummings...© 2003
.
.......In form and
feature, Adonis has no earthly equal. Although he is but a boy, such is his masculine allure that even Venus, the goddess of love, covets him. Pursuing him while he hunts on horseback, she tells him that he is Thrice fairer than myself. He is, she says, The fields chief flower, sweet above compare. When she invites him to sit with her to receive her smothering kisses, he refuses, for he is
frosty in desire.
.......Venus unhorses him, so that they lie side by side, and she strokes his cheek. Whatever words of protest he musters she murders with a kiss. When he breathes, She feedeth on the steam as on a
prey. She woos him furtheron and on, relentlesslywith honey-coated words, all the while grasping his hand. But Adonis does not respond. He says, Fie, no more of love! The sun doth burn my face: I must remove. After his horse runs off to woo a jennet, Adonis scolds the love goddess:
.............."For shame," he cries, "let go, and let me go;
..............My day's delight is past, my horse is
gone,
..............And 'tis your fault I am bereft him so:
..............I pray you hence, and leave me here alone;
..............For all my mind, my thought, my busy care,
..............Is how to get my palfrey from the mare."
.......His only desire is to hunt, to chase a boar, and he begs release. He promises a kiss if she allows him to go his way. When they embrace, face grows to face. When he draws backward, she presses in. He yields for a time, like wax, as she makes impressions. But by and by, as day succumbs to
evening, he resists again and she no longer restrains him, saying:
.............."Sweet boy," she says, "this night I'll waste in sorrow,
..............For my sick heart commands mine eyes to watch.
..............Tell me, Love's master, shall we meet to-morrow?
..............Say, shall we? shall we? wilt thou make the
match?'
..............He tells her, no; to-morrow he intends
..............To hunt the boar with certain of his
friends."
.......He leaves, disappearing into the darkness.
.......In the morning, the hunt is on. Hounds bark and bay. Attracted by the din, Venus spies the boar Whose frothy mouth
[is] bepainted all with red, / Like milk and blood being mingled both together. The dogs run about in a frenzy, bleeding. And Adonis? Where is Adonis? She fears the worst. When a merry horn sounds, her heart quickens with hope and
..............As falcon to the lure, away she flies;
..............The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light;
..............And in her haste unfortunately spies
..............The foul boar's conquest on her fair delight;
..............Which seen, her eyes, as murder'd with the view,
..............Like stars ashamed of day, themselves
withdrew;
.......Adonis has been gored. He is dead. Venus is devastated. She says:
.............."Alas, poor world, what treasure hast thou lost!
..............What face remains alive that's worth the viewing?
..............Whose tongue is music now? what canst thou boast
..............Of things long since, or any thing
ensuing?
..............The flowers are sweet, their colours fresh and trim;
..............But true-sweet beauty
lived and died with him."
.......From his blood, she causes a purple flower to grow. Then, tired and careworn, she hies away in her chariot, drawn by silver doves, to immure herself and not be seen.
Climax
.......The climax occurs when Venus discovers the body of Adonis, who has been gored to death by the board.
.
Imagery and Language.......When he wrote the poem, Shakespeare was attempting to establish his reputation as a writer of merit. Consequently, he exhibited considerable technical skill in figures of speech describing the passion of Venus, the allure of the countryside, and the grisly aftermath of the boar's encounter
with Adonis and the hunting dogs.
.......In many stanzas, Shakespeare charged his words with chaste and innocent denotations and sensual and suggestive connotations. Some modern interpreters of the poem read much into
these words while speculating on Shakespeare's own sexuality.
.......Following are examples of figures of speech in the poem.
Alliteration
With this she seizeth on his sweating palm (line 25)
He burns with bashful shame (line 49)
Rain added to a river that
is rank (line 71)
Strong-temper'd steel his stronger strength obey'd (line 111)
Seeds spring from seeds, and beauty breedeth beauty (line 167)AnaphoraStillshe entreats, and prettily entreats,
For to a pretty ear she tunes her tale;
Stillis he sullen, stillhe lours and frets, (line 73-75)Imperiously heleaps, heneighs, hebounds (264)
IronyPoor queen of love, in thine own law forlorn,
To love a cheek that smiles at thee in
scorn! (lines 251-252)
The goddess of love fails at love.MetaphorThe sun
that shines from heaven shines but warm,
And lo! I lie between that sun and thee:
The heat I have from thence
doth little harm,
Thine eye darts forth the fire that burneth me;
And were I not immortal, life were
done
Between this heavenly and earthly sun. (lines 193-198)
Comparison of Adonis's eye to an "earthly
sun"I'll be a park, and thou shalt be my deer;
Feed where thou wilt, on mountain or in dale (lines 231-232)
Comparison of Venus to a park and Adonis to a deer
Full gently now she takes him by the hand,
A lily prison'd in a gaol of snow (lines 361-362)
Comparison of Adonis to a lily
Comparison of Venus to a jail (gaol)
And Titan, tired in the mid-day heat
With burning eye did hotly overlook them
Comparison of Titan, a Greek god also known as Helios, to the sun
Comparison of the sun to an eye
ParadoxFor I have heard it is a life in death,
That laughs and weeps, and all but with a
breath. (lines 413-414)
(Life is death; laughing is weeping.)Narcissus so himself himself forsook,
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook.
Narcissus, a mythological personage who fell in love with his own image, forsakes himselfan impossibility.
Personification the sun with purple-colour'd face
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn (lines 1-2)
Comparison of the sun and the morning to personsNature that made thee, with herself at strife,
Saith that the world hath ending with thy life. (lines 11-12)
Comparison of nature to a person
SimileShe red and hot as coals of glowing fire (line 35)
Comparison of Venus's complexion to
glowing coalsUpon this promise did he raise his chin
Like a dive-dapper peering through a wave (85-86)
Comparison of Adonis to a bird called a dive-dapper, also known as a dabchick and a grebe
Whereat her tears began to turn their tide,
Being prisoned in her eye like pearls in glass. (lines 979-980)
Comparison of tears to pearls
Vocabulary and Allusions From the Poemagues: Fevers.
anon: Soon.
batt'ry: Breach, entry.
bootless chat: Unproductive, useless.
brake: Clump of foliage;
thicket.
caitiff: Creature filled with fear or intimidation.
carry-tale: Tale bearer;
gossip.
clepes: Calls by name; addresses.
clip Elysium: Gain paradise.
compassed: Achieved, accomplished.
conies: Rabbits.
contemn: Despise, scorn.
Cupid: God of love. He was the son of Venus.
curvet: Movement in which a horse raises its forelegs and then springs forward. The hind legs rise while the forelegs fall.
defeature: Disfigurement.
Dian: Diana, goddess of the hunt.
dive-dapper: Bird also
known as a dabchick or grebe.
engirds: Girdsthat is, surrounds, circles.
fain: Eager,
willing.
fetlock: Tuft of hair above and behind the hoof of a horse.
flap-mouthed mourner: Yelping
or crying dog with floppy skin on the jowls.
flint: Very hard stone.
four such lamps: Four
eyes.
froward: Hard to control; disobedient.
gaol: Jail.
glister: Glisten.
heart's attorney: tongue. The tongue speaks for the heart.
impostumes: Festers, sores.
indenting: Zizagging.
intendments: Intentions.
jade: Worn-out horse; worthless horse.
jennet: Female donkey.
laund: Open field; glade
limning: Drawing, painting, sketching.
lour: Scowl, grimace, frown.
maw: Stomach.
meed: Prize, recompense, reward.
mermaid's voice: Allusion to the Sirens,sea nymphs in Homer's Odyssey. They sang a song so alluring that it attracted to their shore all passing sailors who heard itand then they sat, transfixed by the song, until they
died.
milch doe: Doe that produces milk.
Narcissus: In Greek mythology, handsome young man who fell in
love with his own image reflected in a pool
no fisher but the ungrown fry forbears: No fisherman keeps ungrown (small) fish. He throws them back.
palfrey: Gentle saddle horse.
Paphos: Ancient city in Cyprus.
perforce: Necessarily, forcibly.
pine the maw: Deny or deprive the stomach.
purblind hare: Weak-sighted hare.
repine: Unhappy, not contented.
saddlebow: Upward
projection on the front part of a saddle; pommel.
shag: Shaggy.
singled with much ado the cold
fault: Singled out or found the lost scent.
sovereign plaster: remedy.
spleens: Impulses;
spirits.
stillitory: Still, used to vaporize, distill.
Tantalus:In Greek mythology, King of
Sipylus, Lydia. He was a favorite of the gods until he attempted to deceive them. For his offense, they condemned him to eternal punishment in Hades. There, Tantalus thirsted for water that always receded when he tried to drink it and desired fruit on a tree branch that was always out of reach.
Titan: Another name for Helios, a sun god.
tushes: Tusks of a boar.
twain: Two.
'twixt: Betwixt, meaning between.
vestals: Vestal
virgins
welkin: Sky; heavenly vault.
.
Plays on DVD (or VHS)
..
Trevor Nunn, John Schoffield
Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman
BBC Production
Jane Lapotaire
Thea Sharrock
Jack Laskey, Naomi Frederick
Paul Czinner
Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer
BBC Production
Not Listed
BBC Production
Alan Howard, Irene Worth
Elijah Moshinsky
Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Helen Mirren
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Franco Zeffirelli
Mel Gibson, Glenn Close
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh,
Gregory Doran
David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie
John Gielgud, Bill Colleran
Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn
Grigori Kozintsev
Innokenti Smoktunovsky
Cambpell Scott, Eric Simonson
Campbell Scott, Blair Brown
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branaugh, Derek Jacobi
Laurence Olivier
Leslie Banks, Felix Aylmer
BBC Production
Peter Benson, Trevor Peacock
BBC Production
Not Listed
BBC Production
Not Listed
BBC Production
John Stride, Claire Bloom, Julian Glover
BBC Production
Richard Pasco, Keith Michell
David Bradley
Charlton Heston
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Marlon Brando, James Mason
Stuart Burge
Charlton Heston, Jason Robards
BBC Production
Not Listed
Grigori Kozintsev
Yuri Yarvet
Peter Brook
Cyril Cusack, Susan Engel
Edwin Sherin
James Earl Jones
Tony Davenall
Patrick Mower, Ann Lynn
Michael Elliott
Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone
BBC Production)
Not Listed
Philip Casson
Ian McKellen, Judy Dench
BBC Production
Not Listed
BBC Production
Warren Mitchell, Gemma Jones
Christ Hunt, Trevor Nunn
David Bamber, Peter De Jersey
John Sichel
Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright
Not Listed
Leon Charles, Gloria Grahame
Adrian Noble
Lindsay Duncan, Alex Jennings
Michael Hoffman
Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer
Kenneth Branaugh
Branaugh, Emma Thompson
Nick Havinga
Sam Waterston, F. Murray Abraham
Janet Suzman
Richard Haines, John Kaki
Trevor Nunn
Ian McKellen, Michael Grandage
Stuart Burge
Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay
Orson Welles
Orson Welles
Franklin Melton
Peter MacLean, Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter
Ran (1985) Japanese Version of King Lear
Akira Kurosawa
Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao
John Farrell
Matte Osian, Kadina de Elejalde
André Calmettes, James Keane
Robert Gemp, Frederick Warde
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson
Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen, Annette Bening
BBC Production
Ron Cook, Brian Protheroe, Michael Byrne
Franco Zeffirelli
Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey
Baz Luhrmann
Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Joan Kemp-Welch
Christopher Neame, Ann Hasson
BBC Production
John Gielgud, Rebecca Saire, Patrick Ryecart
Franco Zeffirelli
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton
Kirk Browning
Raye Birk, Earl Boen, Ron Boussom
Not Listed
Franklin Seales, Karen Austin
Paul Mazursky
John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands
Jack Bender
Peter Fonda, John Glover, Harold Perrineau,
Akira Kurosawa
Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada
Trevor Nunn
Helena Bonham Carter
BBC Production
Not Listed
BBC Production
John Hudson, Joanne Pearce
Greg Doran
Royal Shakespeare Company
BBC Production
Not Listed