🌹 Stanza 112 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

‘What should I do, seeing thee so indeed,
That tremble at the imagination?   
The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed,
And fear doth teach it divination:
I prophesy thy death, my living sorrow,
If thou encounter with the boar to-morrow.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: ‘What should I do, seeing thee so indeed,

"What should I do": A rhetorical question expressing Venus's profound helplessness and despair. She is at a loss for how to proceed, having exhausted her pleas.
"seeing thee so indeed": Refers to Venus observing Adonis's firm and unwavering resolve to go hunting. "Indeed" emphasizes the undeniable reality and certainty of his intention, despite her fervent attempts to dissuade him. Shakespeare uses "indeed" to underscore the futility of her efforts.
Meaning: "What am I supposed to do, seeing you so resolutely determined (to go hunting)?"

Line 2: That tremble at the imagination?

"That tremble": Refers back to Venus herself, indicating her physical reaction to the mere thought of Adonis's potential encounter. Her body shakes with fear.
"at the imagination": Trembling purely at the mental image or thought of Adonis confronting the boar. This highlights the intensity of her fear; the danger doesn't even need to be real or present for her to be deeply affected. It's a premonition, not just a worry.
Meaning: "I, who tremble merely at the thought of such an event?"

Line 3: The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed,

"The thought of it": The mental image of Adonis encountering the boar and the danger this entails.
"doth make": An archaic form meaning "does make."
"my faint heart bleed": A hyperbolic expression indicating extreme emotional distress and suffering. "Faint" suggests terror or weakness, while "bleed" vividly conveys a sense of deep, internal wounding, as if her heart is physically hemorrhaging from anxiety and sorrow. Shakespeare uses this strong imagery to convey overwhelming grief and fear.
Meaning: "The mere thought of it causes my fearful heart to ache with deep pain."

Line 4: And fear doth teach it divination:

"And fear doth teach it": Personification of fear. Fear is presented as an active, sentient entity capable of imparting knowledge or ability. "It" refers to her heart or mind.
"divination": The power of foretelling the future; prophecy. Venus believes her intense fear is not just an emotion but a genuine premonition, a supernatural insight into what is to come. This elevates her anxiety to a prophetic warning, making her foreboding seem more legitimate and terrifying.
Meaning: "And my intense fear grants my heart the ability to foresee the future."

Line 5: I prophesy thy death, my living sorrow,

"I prophesy thy death": A direct and chilling declaration of her grim prediction, explicitly stating the tragic outcome she foresees. This is the culmination of her "divination."
"my living sorrow": An appositive phrase referring to Adonis. He is described as the embodiment of her future sorrow, suggesting that his death will cause her an enduring, profound grief that will continue to exist as long as she lives. It can also imply that his stubbornness even while alive is a source of sorrow for her. Shakespeare uses this to link Adonis's existence directly to Venus's pain.
Meaning: "I predict your death, which would be the sorrow that remains with me throughout my life."

Line 6: If thou encounter with the boar to-morrow.

"If thou encounter with the boar": States the specific condition under which her prophecy will come true. "Encounter" here means to meet in conflict or combat.
"to-morrow": Specifies the immediate future, emphasizing the imminent nature of the threat and making the warning particularly urgent and terrifying.
Meaning: "If you meet and fight with the wild boar tomorrow."

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Rhetorical Question	"What should I do, seeing thee so indeed, / That tremble at the imagination?" (Lines 1-2)	Emphasizes Venus's profound helplessness and emotional turmoil, highlighting the futility of her efforts to persuade Adonis and her own desperate state.
Hyperbole	"The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed" (Line 3)	Exaggerates the depth and intensity of Venus's emotional pain and fear, making her suffering seem almost physically debilitating and stressing the extreme nature of her distress.
Personification	"And fear doth teach it divination" (Line 4)	Gives fear the human ability to "teach," elevating it from a mere emotion to an active, guiding force that imparts prophetic knowledge, thereby legitimizing Venus's premonition.
Foreshadowing / Prophecy	"I prophesy thy death" (Line 5)	Directly hints at the tragic climax of the poem, building suspense and a sense of impending doom. It acts as a clear warning that ultimately comes to pass.
Metaphor / Appositive	"my living sorrow" (Line 5)	Equates Adonis directly with Venus's future grief, suggesting that his very existence (or impending death) is the source and embodiment of her profound, enduring sorrow.
Imagery	"my faint heart bleed" (Line 3)	Creates a vivid and visceral image of internal suffering, making Venus's emotional pain tangible and empathetic to the reader.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

Stanza 112 marks a critical shift in Venus's appeals to Adonis. Having failed to sway him with arguments for love and pleasure, she now resorts to a dire, prophetic warning. Her fear escalates beyond mere anxiety into a premonition, which she believes is divinely inspired. This stanza introduces a potent sense of tragic inevitability, underscoring the deep chasm between Venus's desire for love and life, and Adonis's pursuit of dangerous, solitary sport and ultimate death.

The stanza's significance lies in several aspects:

Heightened Emotional Stakes: It vividly portrays the depth of Venus's love and her overwhelming fear for Adonis. Her physical trembling, bleeding heart, and prophetic visions illustrate her complete emotional investment and the intensity of her suffering. This contrasts sharply with Adonis's aloofness and single-minded focus on the hunt.
Foreshadowing and Tragic Irony: Venus's explicit prophecy of Adonis's death directly foreshadows the tragic ending of the poem. The irony is poignant: her deepest fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because Adonis ignores her warnings, highlighting his youthful arrogance and fatal flaw. This premonition also aligns the poem with classical tragedy, where omens often precede doom.
Themes of Love vs. Death: The stanza starkly juxtaposes Venus's life-affirming, passionate love with the death-bringing danger of the hunt. Her "living sorrow" emphasizes that Adonis, even alive, is a source of pain due to his refusal, and his death would cement that sorrow permanently. It underscores the poem's central conflict between the forces of erotic vitality and destructive violence.
Adonis's Stubbornness: Despite such a powerful, emotionally charged, and specific warning, Adonis remains resolute. This stanza effectively highlights his youth, inexperience, and perhaps an unconscious death-wish or pursuit of an ideal (the noble hunt) that blinds him to the very real dangers, thereby contributing to his tragic fate.
The Power of Premonition: By attributing her fear to "divination," Venus elevates her subjective emotional state to an objective truth, giving her premonition a supernatural weight that the reader understands will unfortunately come to pass. This adds a layer of dramatic tension and pathos.