🌹 Stanza 10 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,
Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh and bone,     
Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,
Till either gorge be stuff’d or prey be gone;
Even so she kiss’d his brow, his cheek, his chin,
And where she ends she doth anew begin.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,"

"empty eagle": Refers to an eagle that is hungry or famished. "Empty" describes its stomach, indicating a strong desire for food.
"sharp by fast": "Sharp" here means keen, fierce, or intense in its hunger and predatory instinct. "By fast" signifies 'due to fasting' or 'because of being hungry'. The eagle's hunger makes it more acute and aggressive.
Meaning: "Just like a hungry eagle, made more intense and fierce by its fasting,"

Line 2: "Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh and bone,"

"Tires with her beak": "Tire" in this context means to tear at, prey upon, or seize and pull apart with the beak. It describes the violent, forceful action of the eagle dismembering its prey, not becoming weary. Shakespeare uses this archaic meaning to convey the eagle's brutal efficiency.
"on feathers, flesh and bone": This enumerates the complete components of the prey being attacked and consumed. It emphasizes the thoroughness and destructive nature of the eagle's feeding, leaving nothing untouched.
Meaning: "Tears relentlessly with its beak at every part of its prey—feathers, flesh, and bone,"

Line 3: "Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,"

"Shaking her wings": This vivid detail adds to the imagery of the eagle's intense predatory act. It suggests agitation, effort, and the raw power involved in securing and consuming its meal. It might also imply the eagle is balancing itself or maintaining its grip on the prey during the violent act.
"devouring all in haste": Highlights the speed and urgency with which the eagle consumes its prey, driven by its profound hunger and instinct. "Haste" emphasizes the rapid, unhesitating nature of the consumption.
Meaning: "Flapping its wings, consuming everything quickly and with urgency,"

Line 4: "Till either gorge be stuff’d or prey be gone;"

"gorge be stuff’d": "Gorge" refers to the throat, gullet, or crop of the bird, where food is temporarily held. "Stuff'd" means filled to capacity, indicating complete satiation.
"prey be gone": Means the prey has been entirely consumed or destroyed. This line establishes the boundary of the eagle's action – it ceases only when its hunger is fully satisfied or when there is nothing left to eat.
Meaning: "Until either its throat is completely full or all of its prey has been consumed;"

Line 5: "Even so she kiss’d his brow, his cheek, his chin,"

"Even so": This phrase directly connects Venus's actions back to the preceding simile, indicating that her behavior is exactly like that of the hungry eagle described. It marks the transition from the figurative comparison to the literal action.
"his brow, his cheek, his chin": This lists the specific parts of Adonis's face that Venus is kissing. The enumeration suggests a systematic, almost possessive coverage of his face, mirroring the eagle's thorough consumption of its prey. It portrays her kisses as a form of 'devouring' him.
Meaning: "In the very same manner, she kissed his forehead, his cheek, and his chin,"

Line 6: "And where she ends she doth anew begin."

"where she ends she doth anew begin": This phrase emphasizes the relentless, cyclical, and insatiable nature of Venus's affectionate assault. As soon as she finishes one series of kisses, she immediately starts another, indicating her profound and seemingly endless desire for Adonis. "Anew" means again, or afresh.
Meaning: "And as soon as she finished kissing one area, she immediately began again."

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Simile	"Even as an empty eagle... Even so she kiss’d..."	The primary device, comparing Venus's kisses to a hungry eagle devouring its prey. It establishes Venus's desire as predatory, intense, and insatiable, creating a vivid and somewhat unsettling image that contrasts with conventional romantic portrayals. It highlights her overwhelming nature.
Imagery	"sharp by fast," "feathers, flesh and bone," "Shaking her wings," "gorge be stuff’d," "brow, his cheek, his chin"	Provides vivid sensory details that make the eagle's ferocity and Venus's relentless pursuit palpable to the reader. It evokes a strong sense of a powerful, consuming hunger, both literal and metaphorical.
Metaphor/Implied Metaphor	Adonis as prey; Venus's kisses as a form of consumption.	By comparing Adonis's body parts ("brow, his cheek, his chin") to the eagle's "feathers, flesh and bone," the poem implicitly positions Adonis as the vulnerable prey and Venus as the aggressive, consuming predator, emphasizing the power imbalance and the intensity of her desire.
Parallelism	The structure of the eagle's actions ("Till either gorge be stuff’d or prey be gone;") and Venus's actions ("And where she ends she doth anew begin.")	Creates a strong structural and thematic link between the two parts of the simile. It underscores the relentless and insatiable nature of both the eagle's hunger and Venus's desire, showing how both continue until a certain objective (satiation/exhaustion of prey for eagle, unending passion for Venus) is met.
Enjambment	Lines 1-4 and Lines 5-6 (though the stanza itself is an extended simile, the action flows across lines).	The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza, allows the description of the eagle's relentless action to flow uninterrupted, mirroring the ceaseless nature of its feasting and Venus's kissing.
Alliteration	"sharp by fast," "brow, his cheek, his chin" (subtle repetition of 'b' sound)	Adds a subtle musicality and rhythm to the lines, making them more memorable and reinforcing the described actions or objects.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza is pivotal in establishing the central conflict and character dynamics of Venus and Adonis. The extended simile of the hungry eagle consuming its prey is not merely a vivid image; it serves as a powerful metaphor for Venus's overwhelming and predatory desire for Adonis.

Firstly, it immediately casts Venus as a forceful, almost violent figure in her pursuit of love. Her passion is not gentle or romantic; it is depicted as an insatiable hunger, akin to an animal instinct. The kisses are not expressions of tender affection but acts of "devouring," highlighting her aggressive and dominant role. This subverts the traditional portrayal of the goddess of love, presenting her as a formidable, consuming force of nature, rather than a demure lover.

Secondly, the comparison implicitly positions Adonis as the vulnerable "prey." He is the object of Venus's intense hunger, his body parts listed like the components of a meal ("feathers, flesh and bone" vs. "brow, his cheek, his chin"). This establishes his passive and somewhat helpless position in the face of her advances, foreshadowing his general resistance and ultimate inability to escape her (or fate's) powerful grasp.

Finally, the stanza profoundly introduces the theme of insatiable desire and its consuming nature. Just as the eagle will not stop until completely gorged or the prey is gone, Venus's desire is boundless—"where she ends she doth anew begin." This highlights the unceasing, almost desperate quality of her passion, which is a major source of conflict throughout the poem as Adonis consistently resists such overwhelming and unrequited ardor. The stanza sets the tone for a narrative that explores love not merely as affection, but as a powerful, sometimes destructive, force that can overwhelm and consume its object. This primal, instinctual portrayal of love distinguishes Venus and Adonis from more conventional romantic narratives and deepens its psychological complexity.