🌹 Stanza 121 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

But if thou fall, O! then imagine this,
The earth, in love with thee, thy footing trips,
And all is but to rob thee of a kiss.       
Rich preys make true men thieves; so do thy lips
Make modest Dian cloudy and forlorn,
Lest she should steal a kiss and die forsworn.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "But if thou fall, O! then imagine this,"

• "But if thou fall": Venus is addressing Adonis, suggesting a hypothetical scenario where he might stumble or fall, perhaps from his horse or merely trip on the ground. This sets up a reinterpretation of a potential accident.
• "O! then imagine this": Venus is actively instructing Adonis to engage his imagination, urging him to see a potential mishap not as a clumsy accident but as an intentional act stemming from intense desire. Shakespeare uses "O!" to convey a sense of urgency and dramatic emphasis in her plea.
• Meaning: But if you should happen to fall, O! then I implore you, envision this possibility:

Line 2: "The earth, in love with thee, thy footing trips,"

• "The earth, in love with thee": This is an instance of personification, attributing the human emotion of love to the inanimate earth. Venus suggests the ground itself is so enamored with Adonis that it actively seeks closeness with him. Shakespeare chooses this to elevate Adonis's beauty to a cosmic level, implying its power extends beyond human realm.
• "thy footing trips": Your foot stumbles or catches. "Footing" refers to the way one walks or stands. Venus frames the act of tripping as a deliberate action by the earth, not an accident, driven by affection.
• Meaning: The very ground beneath you, being so deeply in love with you, deliberately causes you to stumble,

Line 3: "And all is but to rob thee of a kiss."

• "all is but": The sole purpose, or the only reason for this action, is merely.
• "to rob thee of a kiss": To steal a kiss from you. Venus implies that the earth's action (tripping Adonis) is a metaphor for an irresistible urge to take what is desired, specifically a kiss. This also mirrors Venus's own aggressive pursuit of Adonis's kisses. Shakespeare uses "rob" to emphasize the irresistible nature of the beauty that compels even the inanimate to "take" from Adonis.
• Meaning: And the entire reason for this (the earth tripping you) is simply to steal a kiss from you.

Line 4: "Rich preys make true men thieves; so do thy lips"

• "Rich preys": Highly valuable or desirable targets; valuable prizes. "Preys" refers to something so desirable it tempts even the virtuous.
• "make true men thieves": Even honest, upright, and morally sound individuals ("true men") are tempted to act dishonestly or steal when confronted with something exceedingly valuable or attractive. This is a proverbial statement used by Venus to justify intense desire as an inevitable response to great beauty. Shakespeare uses "true men" to underscore the extraordinary allure of Adonis, suggesting it can corrupt even the most virtuous.
• "so do thy lips": In the same way, your lips (Adonis's lips, which Venus finds irresistibly beautiful and desires). This creates a direct comparison between valuable objects that tempt thieves and Adonis's lips that tempt desires.
• Meaning: Highly valuable treasures can turn even honest men into thieves; in the same way, your lips,

Line 5: "Make modest Dian cloudy and forlorn,"

• "modest Dian": An allusion to Diana, the Roman goddess of chastity, the hunt, and the moon, famously sworn to perpetual virginity. "Modest" emphasizes her renowned purity and virtue.
• "cloudy and forlorn": "Cloudy" here means troubled, distressed, or darkened with sadness or envy. "Forlorn" means lonely, desolate, or dejected, often implying a sense of longing or abandonment. Venus suggests that even Diana, the epitome of chastity, would be made unhappy or envious by Adonis's beauty, wishing to break her vows for him. Shakespeare uses this to heighten Adonis's attractiveness to a mythical level, suggesting he could tempt the untemptable.
• Meaning: Would make even chaste Diana troubled and filled with longing,

Line 6: "Lest she should steal a kiss and die forsworn."

• "Lest she should steal a kiss": For fear that she might be so overwhelmed by desire for Adonis that she would resort to stealing a kiss, just as Venus desires to do. This links Diana's potential temptation back to Venus's own fervent longing in the earlier lines.
• "and die forsworn": And die having broken her solemn oath of chastity (her vow to remain a virgin). "Forsworn" means having sworn falsely or having broken an oath. For Diana, breaking her sacred vow would be an ultimate dishonor, akin to a spiritual death. This hyperbole emphasizes the extreme, almost dangerous, allure of Adonis. Shakespeare uses "die forsworn" to underline the profound consequences of breaking sacred vows and to dramatically convey the irresistible power of Adonis's beauty.
• Meaning: For fear that she might be compelled to steal a kiss from you and consequently perish, having broken her sacred vow of chastity.

🎭 Literary Devices

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

In this stanza, Venus continues her persistent and increasingly elaborate attempts to seduce Adonis. She employs a fantastical and manipulative rhetoric, attempting to reframe a potential stumble or fall not as an accident, but as an active expression of desire from the very earth itself, which is so enamored with Adonis that it trips him merely to steal a kiss. This imaginative reinterpretation serves to normalize her own aggressive pursuit, suggesting that even the natural world is driven to "steal" from Adonis due to his overwhelming beauty.

The stanza's significance in the broader context of Venus and Adonis is multifaceted:

• Conflict of Desire vs. Chastity: The most prominent theme reinforced here is the clash between Venus's unbridled, aggressive sexual desire and Adonis's youthful, chaste indifference and aversion to love. By alluding to "modest Dian" (Diana, the goddess of chastity) and suggesting that even she would be "cloudy and forlorn" and "die forsworn" for a kiss from Adonis, Venus's argument serves to amplify Adonis's irresistible allure. It implies that his beauty is so potent it could break the most sacred vows, thereby attempting to make Venus's own relentless pursuit seem not only understandable but almost inevitable. This highlights the destructive power of overwhelming desire, as even purity itself might fall prey to Adonis's charm.
• The Power of Beauty and Temptation: Adonis's beauty is depicted as an almost supernatural force, capable of animating the inanimate ("The earth...trips") and corrupting the virtuous ("true men thieves," "modest Dian cloudy"). This emphasizes the overwhelming and potentially dangerous nature of such exceptional beauty, which compels others to desire and take, aligning with the poem's tragic undertones where Adonis's beauty ultimately leads to his demise.
• Venus's Rhetorical Strategy and Agency: The stanza further develops Venus's character as a forceful, articulate, and somewhat desperate seductress. Her arguments, while logically convoluted, are creatively constructed to overcome Adonis's resistance by appealing to his vanity and reinterpreting reality to suit her passionate desires. This underscores her role as the active, dominant pursuer, constantly trying to break through Adonis's aloofness and demonstrate her own profound, if overwhelming, love. It shows her willingness to use flattery and mythological justification to achieve her goal.