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A Study Guide |
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Notes and Plot Summary by Michael J. Cummings © 2003 . Date
of 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.
..............A...Even
as the sun with purple-colour'd face
Meter: Most of the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter, with ten syllables (five feet) per line. The following lines demonstrate this metric pattern:
"ForSHAME," | heCRIES, | "letGO, | andLET | meGO; .........1...... ....2......... ....3...............4................5 MyDAY'S| deLIGHT| isPAST, | myHORSE| isGONE, .......1...... .. ..2....... ....3..........4............5 And'TIS | yourFAULT| IAM | beREFT| himSO: ......1...... ..2........ .........3...............4.............5 IPRAY | youHENCE, |and LEAVE| meHERE | aLONE; ......1...... ..2........ ....... ....3.................4............5 ForALL | myMIND, |my THOUGHT, | myBUS | yCARE, ......1...... ..2....... ....3..............4.................5 IsHOW | toGET | myPAL | freyFROM | theMARE." Ambiguities and Double Entendres: In many stanzas, Shakespeare charges 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. 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 a favorite at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, his association with the headstrong Robert Devereux, the Second Earl of Essex–another fixture at court–led him to take part in Devereux’s 1601 rebellion against the queen. Wriothesley was sentenced to life imprisonment. 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 field’s 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 further–on and on, relentlessly–with 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;
.......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,
.......He
leaves, disappearing into the darkness.
..............As
falcon to the lure, away she flies;
.......Adonis has been gored. He is dead. Venus is devastated. She says: .............."Alas,
poor world, what treasure hast thou lost!
.......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.” |
| Film | Director | Actors |
| Antony and Cleopatra (1974) | Trevor Nunn, John Schoffield | Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman |
| As You Like It (1937) NR | Paul Czinner | Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer |
| Hamlet (1948) NR | Laurence Olivier | Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons |
| Hamlet (1990) NR | Kevin Kline | Kevin Kline |
| Hamlet (1991) PG | Franco Zeffirelli | Mel Gibson, Glenn Close |
| Hamlet (1996) PG-13 | Kenneth Branagh | Kenneth Branagh, |
| Hamlet (1964) NR | John Gielgud, Bill Colleran | Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn |
| Hamlet (1964) NR | Grigori Kozintsev | Innokenti Smoktunovsky |
| Hamlet (2000) NR | Cambpell Scott, Eric Simonson | Campbell Scott, Blair Brown |
| Henry V (1989) PG-13 | Kenneth Branagh | Kenneth Branaugh, Derek Jacobi |
| Henry V( 1946) NR | Laurence Olivier | Leslie Banks, Felix Aylmer |
| Julius Caesar (1950) NR | David Bradley | Charlton Heston |
| Julius Caesar (1953) NR | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Marlon Brando, James Mason |
| Julius Caesar (1970) G | Stuart Burge | Charlton Heston, Jason Robards |
| King Lear (1970) | Grigori Kozintsev | Yuri Yarvet |
| King Lear (1971) | Peter Brook | Cyril Cusack, Susan Engel |
| King Lear (1974) NR | Edwin Sherin | James Earl Jones |
| King Lear (1976) NR | Tony Davenall | Patrick Mower, Ann Lynn |
| King Lear (1984) NR | Michael Elliott | Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely |
| King Lear (1997) NR | Richard Eyre | Ian Holm |
| Love's Labour's Lost (2000) | Kenneth Branagh | Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone |
| Macbeth (1971) R | Roman Polanski | Jon Finch, Francesca Annis |
| Macbeth (1978) NR | Philip Casson | Ian McKellen, Judy Dench |
| The Merchant of Venice (2004) R | Michael Radford | Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons |
| The Merchant of Venice (2001) NR | Christ Hunt, Trevor Nunn | David Bamber, Peter De Jersey |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor (1970) NR | Leon Charles, Gloria Grahame | |
| Midsummer Night's Dream (1996) PG-13 | Adrian Noble | Lindsay Duncan, Alex Jennings |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) | Michael Hoffman | Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer |
| Much Ado About Nothing (1993) PG 13 | Kenneth Branaugh | Branaugh, Emma Thompson |
| Othello (1990) NR | Trevor Nunn | Ian McKellen, Michael Grandage |
| Othello (1955) NR | Orson Welles | Orson Welles |
| Ran (1985) Japanese Version of King Lear R | Akira Kurosawa | Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao |
| Richard II (2001) NR | John Farrell | Matte Osian, Kadina de Elejalde |
| Richard III (1912) NR | André Calmettes, James Keane | Robert Gemp, Frederick Warde |
| Richard III - Criterion Collection (1956) NR | Laurence Olivier | Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson |
| Richard III (1995) R | Richard Loncraine | Ian McKellen, Annette Bening |
| Romeo and Juliet (1968) G | Franco Zeffirelli | Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey |
| Romeo and Juliet (1996) PG-13 | Baz Luhrmann | Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes |
| Romeo and Juliet (1976) NR | Joan Kemp-Welch | Christopher Neame, Ann Hasson |
| The Taming of the Shrew (1967) | Franco Zeffirelli | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton |
| The Taming of the Shrew (1976) | Kirk Browning | Raye Birk, Earl Boen, Ron Boussom |
| The Taming of The Shrew (1983) NR | Franklin Seales, Karen Austin, | |
| The Tempest PG | Paul Mazursky | John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands |
| The Tempest (1998) | Jack Bender | Peter Fonda, John Glover, Harold Perrineau, |
| Throne of Blood (1961) Macbeth in Japan NR | Akira Kurosawa | Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada |
| Twelfth Night (1996) PG | Trevor Nunn | Helena Bonham Carter |
| The Winter's Tale (2005) NR | Greg Doran | Royal Shakespeare Company |