🌹 Stanza 1 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Even as the sun with purple-colour’d face
Had ta’en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheek’d Adonis tried him to the chase;
Hunting he lov’d, but love he laugh’d to scorn;      
Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And like a bold-fac’d suitor ‘gins to woo him.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Even as the sun with purple-colour’d face"

• "Even as": At the very moment that; just as. It establishes the precise timing of the scene.
• "the sun with purple-colour’d face": This vivid imagery describes the sky at either dawn or dusk, when the sun's rays cause the horizon and clouds to glow with hues of red, orange, and purple. "Purple-colour’d" suggests a rich, intense, and perhaps majestic or even bruised appearance of the sun, setting a dramatic tone. Shakespeare uses "purple" for both dawn and dusk to evoke a sense of transition and atmospheric beauty.
• Meaning: "Just as the sun, with its face colored purple (from the dawn or dusk light),"

Line 2: "Had ta’en his last leave of the weeping morn,"

• "Had ta’en his last leave": Had made his final departure. This reinforces the idea of a transition, either the sun rising fully and leaving the darkness of night, or setting and leaving the daylight. Given the context of the poem's beginning with Venus finding Adonis early, this strongly points to the sun rising, departing from the last vestiges of night or early morning dew.
• "weeping morn": A personification of the morning. The "tears" refer to the dew drops clinging to grass and plants, creating a tender, almost melancholic image. It suggests the passing of night's stillness and perhaps subtly foreshadows the sorrow to come.
• Meaning: "Had taken its final departure from the morning, which appeared to be weeping (covered in dew)."

Line 3: "Rose-cheek’d Adonis tried him to the chase;"

• "Rose-cheek’d": A descriptive epithet for Adonis, highlighting his youthful beauty, healthy complexion, and fresh appearance, akin to the delicate beauty of a rose. This emphasizes his physical appeal, which is central to Venus's obsession.
• "tried him to the chase": Prepared himself for the hunt; set himself to the pursuit of game. "Tried him" here means to apply oneself, to exert effort. This establishes Adonis's primary activity and passion.
• Meaning: "Adonis, with his cheeks as fresh and beautiful as roses, was preparing himself for the hunt;"

Line 4: "Hunting he lov’d, but love he laugh’d to scorn;"

• "Hunting he lov’d": This straightforward declaration emphasizes Adonis's singular passion and dedication to this activity.
• "love he laugh’d to scorn": This is the pivotal statement about Adonis's character. It means he mocked, dismissed, or held in contempt any romantic or sexual love. "Scorn" indicates a deep disdain or ridicule, establishing his resolute aversion to Venus's very domain. This sets up the central conflict of the poem.
• Meaning: "He loved hunting intensely, but he completely disdained and mocked any romantic love."

Line 5: "Sick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,"

• "Sick-thoughted": This describes Venus's state of mind as being consumed by desire; full of lovesickness, obsessive thoughts, or an intense, almost unhealthy craving. It conveys the depth and urgency of her passion.
• "makes amain unto him": Approaches him with great force, speed, or urgency. "Amain" means with full power, at top speed. This emphasizes the immediate, aggressive, and overwhelming nature of her pursuit.
• Meaning: "Venus, whose mind was consumed by passionate and obsessive thoughts, rushed towards him with great urgency,"

Line 6: "And like a bold-fac’d suitor ‘gins to woo him."

• "bold-fac’d suitor": A brazen, audacious, or shameless person who is trying to win someone's affection. This simile is crucial as it inverts traditional gender roles: Venus, the goddess, acts with the assertiveness and lack of modesty typically associated with a male aggressor in courtship.
• "'gins to woo him": Begins to try and win his affection; starts to court him persuasively. "Woo" implies active persuasion and pursuit.
• Meaning: "And, behaving like a forward and unashamed male suitor, she began to try and win him over."

🎭 Literary Devices

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This opening stanza immediately sets the scene and introduces the two central characters, Venus and Adonis, establishing their contrasting natures and the core conflict that will drive the narrative. The "purple-colour’d face" of the sun and the "weeping morn" create a rich, atmospheric backdrop, hinting at a moment of transition and perhaps foreshadowing the poem's melancholic undertones.

The stanza's significance lies primarily in its clear characterization and the immediate establishment of the poem's central theme: the inversion of traditional love and courtship roles. Adonis is presented as a paradigm of youthful male beauty, but crucially, he is entirely asexual and chaste, utterly devoted to hunting and contemptuous of romantic love. His "laugh[ing] to scorn" at love creates an immovable obstacle for Venus. Conversely, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, is depicted as "sick-thoughted," consumed by an intense, almost obsessive, desire. Her active, "bold-fac'd" pursuit of Adonis, likened to a male suitor, subverts conventional expectations and highlights her overwhelming passion and willingness to transgress societal norms.

This initial dynamic—Venus's aggressive, almost desperate, love against Adonis's resolute, disdainful chastity—establishes the central tension of the poem. It explores themes of unrequited love, the nature of desire (both sacred and profane), gender roles and their subversion, and the ultimately destructive power of overwhelming passion when met with unyielding rejection. The stanza immediately frames the poem as a struggle between powerful forces, where love is not simply a tender emotion but a potent, sometimes dangerous, obsession.