Venus and Adonis - William Shakespeare

Summary

"Venus and Adonis" is an Ovidian narrative poem by William Shakespeare, published in 1593. The poem tells the story of the goddess Venus's unrequited love for the mortal youth Adonis. Venus, the goddess of love, becomes instantly infatuated with the exceptionally beautiful hunter Adonis and uses all her persuasive powers, flattery, and physical advances to win his affection. Adonis, however, is a chaste youth who prefers the thrill of the hunt to the pursuits of love and consistently rejects her fervent advances.

Despite Venus's passionate pleas and warnings about the dangers of hunting, Adonis remains resolute in his desire to chase wild animals. He eventually breaks away from her and goes hunting. Tragically, he is gored to death by a wild boar. Venus discovers his lifeless body, and her overwhelming grief leads her to lament the cruelties of love and pronounce a curse upon it, decreeing that love will forever be fraught with jealousy, sorrow, and fear. From Adonis's blood, a purple and white flower springs, which Venus plucks as a remembrance of her lost love.

Book Sections

Section 1

The poem opens with Venus, the goddess of love, encountering the exceptionally beautiful young mortal, Adonis, as he prepares to go hunting. Struck immediately by his exquisite beauty and grace, she is consumed by an intense desire for him. She accosts him, urging him to abandon his hunt for the day and instead spend time with her. She embraces him, showering him with kisses and passionate declarations of love, all while he attempts to push her away, desiring only to hunt the wild boar. Venus uses her divine power and allure to try to persuade him, even pulling his horse away and forcing him to sit with her.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Venus	Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Passionate, dominant, persistent, possessive, eloquent, alluring, yet ultimately vulnerable.	Driven by overwhelming lust and love for Adonis. Desires physical and emotional union with him. Seeks to fulfill her own desires and the natural order of love and procreation.
Adonis	A young, exceptionally beautiful mortal hunter. Chaste, resolute, somewhat naive, innocent, resistant to love, prefers the hunt.	Desires to maintain his chastity and pursue his passion for hunting. Views love as a distraction and a weakening force. Wants to avoid Venus's advances and uphold his personal values of independence and focus on his outdoor pursuits.

Section 2

Adonis, unaccustomed to such fervent advances and focused on his hunting, attempts to escape Venus's embraces. He expresses his distaste for her overtures, stating that he is too young for love and that his passion lies solely with hunting. Venus, undeterred, continues her relentless pursuit. She launches into a lengthy and eloquent argument for love, explaining its natural beauty, its role in creation, and the importance of procreation to ensure immortality through children. She contrasts his "churlish" coldness with the warmth of natural desire, using metaphors of nature and fertility to try to persuade him. She criticizes his refusal to embrace love, arguing that his beauty is wasted if not given over to generation.

Section 3

During one of Venus's passionate pleas, Adonis's spirited horse suddenly breaks free and bolts away to pursue a wild mare. The mare, beautiful and untamed, flees initially but then responds to the horse's fervent pursuit, eventually allowing itself to be caught. Venus uses this event as a direct analogy for natural desire and the inevitability of love. She points out how even animals succumb to their instincts for mating, implying that Adonis, too, should follow nature's course. She tries to show him that resistance is futile and that there is beauty and naturalness in giving in to passion. However, Adonis remains unmoved by this natural spectacle, his heart still set on the chase of the boar.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
Adonis's Horse	Wild, spirited, strong, driven by primal instincts, symbolic of uncontrolled passion and natural desire.	Driven by the instinct to mate, to pursue a female of its kind.
A Mare	Beautiful, untamed, initially elusive but ultimately responsive to the male's pursuit, representing natural attraction.	Driven by the instinct to mate.

Section 4

Despite Venus's continued efforts, her tears, her seductive arguments, and her physical proximity, Adonis grows increasingly impatient and annoyed. He tells her plainly that he finds her advances tiresome and her "love-suit" displeasing. He explicitly states that he holds no affection for her and wishes only to leave. Distraught by his persistent rejection, Venus tries one last desperate attempt, but Adonis, fueled by frustration and his desire to hunt, forcefully pulls himself away from her grasp. He mounts his retrieved horse and gallops off, leaving Venus alone and heartbroken on the ground.

Section 5

Left alone and utterly dejected, Venus is filled with a terrible premonition. Her earlier pleas to Adonis to avoid dangerous hunts now turn into a profound fear for his safety. She laments his cruel departure and her own unfulfilled desires. She vividly imagines the dangers of the wild boar he intends to hunt, foreseeing his potential demise. Her sorrow turns into a deep anxiety, and she expresses a chilling sense of foreboding, feeling a dark shadow loom over her beloved. She anticipates the tragic outcome of his recklessness and her own helplessness to prevent it.

Section 6

Adonis, true to his word, ventures into the forest to hunt the wild boar. He finds the fearsome beast, and rather than fleeing, he confronts it. The boar, described as a fierce and formidable creature, attacks Adonis. In a tragic and violent encounter, the boar fatally wounds Adonis, goring him in the thigh. The beautiful young hunter, who shunned love for the thrill of the chase, meets a premature and gruesome end, his life cut short by the very pursuit he adored.

Characters Involved	Characteristics	Motivations
The Boar	Wild, fierce, powerful, aggressive, dangerous, symbolic of uncontrolled, destructive passion or raw animal instinct.	Instinctive self-preservation and aggression against a perceived threat.

Section 7

Guided by her terrible premonition, Venus searches frantically for Adonis. She first encounters his hounds, whimpering and covered in blood, which heightens her terror. Following their trail, she eventually stumbles upon the horrifying scene: Adonis's lifeless body, brutally gored by the boar, lying in a pool of his own blood. Overwhelmed by grief and despair, Venus falls into a deep swoon. Upon recovering, she cradles his body, lamenting his untimely death and the cruel fate that took him. She describes in gruesome detail how the boar, enamored by Adonis's beauty, had tragically "kissed" him with its tusk, leading to his demise.

Section 8

As Venus mourns over Adonis's body, a beautiful, purple and white flower mysteriously springs up from the ground where his blood has spilled. It is a flower that is short-lived and fragile, easily withered. Venus recognizes it as a symbolic transformation of her beloved Adonis. She plucks the flower and places it tenderly in her bosom, a lasting memorial to her lost love. In her anguish, she curses Love itself, decreeing that from this day forward, Love will always be intertwined with sorrow, jealousy, deceit, and fear. She concludes that true love will always be shadowed by grief, making joy fleeting and pain inevitable.

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Literary Genre:
Narrative poem, Ovidian epic, mythological poem, erotic verse.

Author Facts:

• William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
• He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
• While primarily known for his plays, 'Venus and Adonis' was his first published work, appearing in 1593.
• The poem was dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, the young Earl of Southampton, a potential patron.
• Along with 'The Rape of Lucrece' and his Sonnets, 'Venus and Adonis' showcases Shakespeare's poetic talents beyond the theatrical stage.

Moral and Lesson:

• The destructive nature of uncontrolled passion vs. cold chastity: The poem explores the conflict between Venus's burning desire and Adonis's detached, chaste refusal, ultimately showing the tragic consequences of both extremes.
• Love's painful consequences: The narrative illustrates that love, even divine love, can lead to immense suffering, grief, and despair. Venus's final curse reflects the idea that love is inherently fraught with sorrow, jealousy, and fear.
• The fleeting nature of beauty and life: Adonis's exquisite beauty is short-lived, highlighting the transience of youth and physical perfection.
• The dangers of rejecting natural inclination: Adonis's refusal to engage in love, a natural human and divine impulse, contributes to his isolation and ultimately his doom.

Curiosities:

• Popularity: 'Venus and Adonis' was an immediate bestseller and Shakespeare's most popular printed work during his lifetime, possibly even more popular than his early plays. It was often reprinted and widely read.
• Ovidian Influence: The poem is a prime example of an "Ovidian poem," drawing heavily on Ovid's Metamorphoses for its mythological subject matter, vivid descriptive language, and themes of transformation and tragic love.
• "A Handful of Honey": Contemporary critics often referred to the poem as a "handful of honey" due to its rich, sensual, and elaborate language, particularly in its descriptions of Venus's beauty and passion.
• Gender Role Reversal: The poem is notable for its reversal of traditional gender roles, with the female (Venus) as the aggressive, lustful pursuer and the male (Adonis) as the chaste, reluctant object of desire.
• Patronage: The dedication to the Earl of Southampton suggests Shakespeare was seeking patronage at a time when London theaters were closed due to the plague, making poetic works a viable means of income and gaining support.