🌹 Stanza 123 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

'And therefore hath she brib'd the Destinies,
To cross the curious workmanship of nature
To mingle beauty with infirmities,
And pure perfection with impure defeature;  
Making it subject to the tyranny
Of mad mischances and much misery;

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "'And therefore hath she brib'd the Destinies,"

"And therefore": As a result of this, for this reason. Venus is continuing an argument about why beauty is vulnerable.
"hath she brib'd": Has she (likely referring to jealous Nature or fate) corrupted or influenced through payment.
"the Destinies": The Fates, the three goddesses who control human destiny in classical mythology (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos).
Meaning: "And therefore she has corrupted the Fates with bribes,"

Line 2: "To cross the curious workmanship of nature"

"To cross": To thwart, oppose, or interfere with. The purpose of the bribery is to sabotage.
"the curious workmanship": The intricate, skillful, and wonderful creations. "Curious" means elaborate and carefully made.
"of nature": Created by Nature as the divine craftsperson. Nature is portrayed as an artist creating masterpieces.
Meaning: "To sabotage Nature's intricate and skillful creations"

Line 3: "To mingle beauty with infirmities,"

"To mingle": To mix together, to combine or blend. This suggests contamination or corruption.
"beauty with infirmities": Perfect attractiveness with weaknesses, sicknesses, or flaws. The pure is corrupted by the impure.
Meaning: "To mix beauty together with weaknesses and diseases,"

Line 4: "And pure perfection with impure defeature;"

"pure perfection": Absolute flawlessness, complete and untainted excellence.
"with impure defeature": With contaminated disfigurement or ugly flaws. "Defeature" means disfigurement or destruction of beauty.
"impure": Morally or physically contaminated, corrupted, tainted.
Meaning: "And to mix absolute perfection with corrupted ugliness;"

Line 5: "Making it subject to the tyranny"

"Making it subject to": Forcing it to be ruled by, putting it under the power of. Beautiful things become enslaved.
"the tyranny": Cruel, oppressive, absolute rule. This suggests harsh and unjust domination.
Meaning: "Putting it under the cruel rule"

Line 6: "Of mad mischances and much misery;"

"mad mischances": Crazy accidents, insane misfortunes. "Mad" suggests both randomness and intensity.
"and much misery": And great suffering, extensive unhappiness. The alliteration emphasizes the abundance of suffering.
Meaning: "Of crazy accidents and great suffering;"

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"brib'd the Destinies," Nature as craftsperson	Makes abstract forces into active agents with human motivations
Classical Allusion	"the Destinies" (the Fates)	References Greek mythology to give cosmic significance to the argument
Contrast	"pure perfection" vs. "impure defeature"	Emphasizes the tragic mixing of opposites
Alliteration	"mad mischances and much misery"	Creates musical emphasis on suffering and chaos
Metaphor	"curious workmanship of nature"	Compares natural beauty to fine craftsmanship
Political Language	"tyranny," "subject to"	Uses language of oppression to describe fate's relationship to beauty
Corruption Imagery	"brib'd," "mingle," "impure"	Suggests moral and physical contamination of purity
Legal/Commercial Language	"brib'd"	Implies illegal transaction that corrupts justice

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza presents Venus's sophisticated argument about why beauty is fragile and should be enjoyed while it lasts. She creates a mythological explanation for mortality and suffering that positions her seduction of Adonis as a rescue mission rather than selfish pursuit.

Cosmic Conspiracy Theory: Venus presents a grand narrative where jealous forces have corrupted the natural order specifically to destroy beauty. This makes Adonis's beauty both precious and endangered.

The Corruption of Natural Order: The "curious workmanship of nature" suggests that beauty is meant to be pure and perfect, but malevolent forces have introduced flaws and mortality to sabotage divine creation.

Theological Implications: By suggesting the Destinies have been bribed, Venus implies that suffering and death are not natural or just, but the result of cosmic corruption. This challenges accepted ideas about fate and divine justice.

Beauty as Victim: Venus positions beautiful beings like Adonis as victims of a cosmic conspiracy rather than simply mortal beings subject to natural law. This makes her pursuit seem protective rather than predatory.

The Mixing of Opposites: The central image of pure perfection being mixed with impure defeature creates a powerful metaphor for how mortality corrupts beauty—death and disease contaminate life and health.

Tyranny Metaphor: By describing fate as "tyranny," Venus suggests that mortality is not natural law but oppressive rule that could potentially be resisted or overcome.

Urgency Through Fear: This argument creates urgency for Adonis to act—if beauty is under constant attack from cosmic forces, he should enjoy his perfection while he can.

Self-Serving Philosophy: While Venus's argument is sophisticated, it conveniently supports her desire to possess Adonis. Her cosmic theory justifies immediate pleasure-seeking.

Renaissance Anxiety: This stanza reflects Renaissance concerns about the relationship between beauty, time, and mortality—themes central to Shakespeare's sonnets as well.

Fatalistic vs. Carpe Diem: Venus uses fatalistic language (cosmic conspiracy, tyranny) to support a carpe diem argument—since beauty is doomed, it should be enjoyed immediately.

This stanza shows Venus at her most philosophically ambitious, creating an entire cosmology to support her seductive agenda while revealing deep anxieties about beauty, time, and mortality.