🌹 Stanza 122 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

‘Now of this dark night I perceive the reason:
Cynthia for shame obscures her silver shine
Till forging Nature be condemn’d of treason,
For stealing moulds from heaven that were divine;
Wherein she fram’d thee in high heaven’s despite,
To shame the sun by day and her by night.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: ‘Now of this dark night I perceive the reason:

"Now of this dark night": Venus is speaking, commenting on the present darkness of the night. This sets the stage for her imaginative explanation of why the night is so unusually dark.
"I perceive the reason": Venus claims to understand the underlying cause or explanation for the deep darkness, implying a profound, non-obvious reason.
Meaning: "I now understand the reason for this very dark night."

Line 2: Cynthia for shame obscures her silver shine

"Cynthia": This is another name for the Moon goddess, often associated with Diana or Artemis, known for her chastity and light. Shakespeare uses this classical allusion to elevate the scene.
"for shame": Because she is embarrassed, humiliated, or feels inferior. This personifies the moon, attributing human emotion to a celestial body.
"obscures her silver shine": Hides her light; makes herself dark and invisible. "Silver shine" emphasizes the Moon's characteristic luminosity and beauty.
Meaning: "The Moon goddess, Cynthia, is hiding her bright, silvery light out of shame."

Line 3: Till forging Nature be condemn’d of treason,

"Till forging Nature": Until creative or forming Nature. "Forging" means to form or shape, but also carries a subtle undertone of creation that might be illicit or imitative, linking to the idea of stealing in the next line. Nature is personified as an active, powerful creator.
"be condemn’d of treason": Is found guilty of treason. Treason is an act of betrayal against a sovereign or state. Here, it implies a grave transgression or betrayal against the divine order or heaven itself.
Meaning: "(Cynthia hides her light) until creative Nature is convicted of treason."

Line 4: For stealing moulds from heaven that were divine;

"For stealing moulds from heaven": This is the specific charge of treason against Nature. "Moulds" refers to the perfect patterns, forms, or blueprints used to create beings. Nature is depicted as having illicitly taken these ideal forms from their divine origin.
"that were divine": Emphasizes the sacred, perfect, and celestial origin of these moulds. They belong to the gods and represent ultimate perfection.
Meaning: "(Nature is condemned) because she stole perfect patterns from heaven that were divinely created."

Line 5: Wherein she fram’d thee in high heaven’s despite,

"Wherein she fram’d thee": Using these stolen divine moulds, Nature created or shaped Adonis. "Fram’d" means constructed or formed, implying a meticulous creation.
"in high heaven’s despite": In defiance of, or to vex/annoy, the supreme powers of heaven. Nature's act of creation with stolen goods was an act of rebellion against the divine will.
Meaning: "And using those stolen patterns, Nature created you (Adonis) in defiance of high heaven."

Line 6: To shame the sun by day and her by night.

"To shame the sun by day": Adonis's beauty is so exceptional that it surpasses and makes the sun seem inferior or dim during the day. "Shame" here means to outshine, to put to shame by comparison.
"and her by night": "Her" refers to Cynthia, the Moon. Adonis's beauty also outshines the moon at night, providing the ultimate reason for Cynthia's self-obscuration mentioned in line 2.
Meaning: "(You were created) to make the sun look dim during the day and the moon (Cynthia) look dim at night."

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"Cynthia for shame obscures her silver shine"	Attributes human emotions (shame) and actions (hiding) to the moon, creating a vivid, imaginative explanation for the night's darkness, driven by Adonis's beauty.
Personification	"Till forging Nature be condemn’d of treason"	Gives the abstract concept of "Nature" the ability to commit a crime (treason) and act with intent, highlighting its powerful, albeit rebellious, creative force.
Hyperbole	"To shame the sun by day and her by night."	Exaggerates Adonis's beauty to a cosmic, unimaginable level, making it superior to the most brilliant celestial bodies. This serves Venus's purpose of extreme flattery.
Mythological Allusion	"Cynthia," "heaven," "divine moulds"	References classical mythology and divine concepts, elevating Adonis's beauty to a supernatural plane and adding a sense of grandeur and ancient authority to Venus's narrative.
Extended Metaphor	The entire stanza's explanation of the dark night as a consequence of Adonis's beauty.	Creates an elaborate, imaginative, and consistent conceit where the cosmos reacts to Adonis's perfection, emphasizing his unique and overwhelming allure from Venus's perspective.
Flattery	The entire stanza, particularly the comparison of Adonis's beauty to celestial bodies.	Venus employs extravagant praise and hyperbolic comparisons to try and overwhelm Adonis with the recognition of his unparalleled beauty, hoping to persuade him to reciprocate her affections.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

In this stanza, Venus offers an elaborate, fantastical explanation for the darkness of the night. She attributes it directly to Adonis's unparalleled beauty, claiming that the Moon goddess, Cynthia, hides her light out of shame. This shame stems from the fact that Nature committed "treason" by stealing divine blueprints from heaven and, against heaven's will, used them to create Adonis, whose beauty is so extraordinary that it outshines both the sun by day and the moon by night.

The significance of this stanza within the poem is multifaceted:

Venus's Persuasion and Rhetoric: This is a prime example of Venus's persuasive tactics. Unable to physically force Adonis, she resorts to overwhelming him with flattery, using hyperbolic language and grand mythological explanations. She attempts to elevate Adonis to a cosmic level, implying that his existence is so profound it alters the very fabric of the universe. This showcases her desperate passion and her willingness to use any means, including elaborate storytelling, to win him over.
The Power of Beauty: The stanza dramatically underscores the central theme of immense, almost dangerous, power of beauty. Adonis's beauty is not merely aesthetic; it's a force so potent that it disrupts natural phenomena, causes celestial bodies to react, and even implies a transgression against divine order. This highlights beauty's potential for both allure and disruption.
Nature vs. Divine Will: It touches upon the tension between earthly creation (Nature's act of forming Adonis) and divine perfection. Nature's "theft" and "treason" suggest a rebellion against established heavenly order in the pursuit of ultimate beauty, raising questions about the origins and consequences of such unparalleled perfection.
Adonis's Aloofness: Ironically, despite all this cosmic praise and Venus's impassioned, imaginative efforts, Adonis remains largely unmoved and uninterested. This contrast highlights the central conflict of the poem: Venus's ardent, active pursuit of love versus Adonis's cold, passive resistance and preference for chastity and the hunt. The grandiosity of Venus's flattery only serves to emphasize Adonis's emotional inaccessibility.