🌹 Stanza 162 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Variable passions throng her constant woe,
As striving who should best become her grief;       
All entertain’d, each passion labours so,
That every present sorrow seemeth chief,
But none is best; then join they all together,
Like many clouds consulting for foul weather.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Variable passions throng her constant woe,"

"Variable passions": Refers to the numerous and fluctuating strong emotions (such as despair, anguish, fear, anger, or sorrow) that Venus experiences. "Variable" emphasizes their changing nature, not fixed or singular.
"throng": To crowd, to gather in great numbers, or to overwhelm. This verb creates a vivid image of a multitude of emotions pressing in upon her. Shakespeare chooses "throng" to convey the sheer volume and press of these feelings.
"her constant woe": Her fundamental, unchanging, and continuous deep sorrow or grief. This suggests that her grief is a stable, enduring core emotion, around which other fluctuating feelings swirl. "Constant" highlights the profound and unyielding nature of her suffering.
Meaning: "Many changing emotions crowd around her unwavering and deep sorrow."

Line 2: "As striving who should best become her grief;"

"As striving": Implies competition or contention. The emotions are depicted as actively competing with each other.
"who should best become her grief": Which of these competing emotions could most perfectly represent, embody, or suit her profound sorrow. They are vying for prominence, trying to find the most fitting form or expression for her pain. "Become" here means to be fitting or appropriate for.
Meaning: "As if competing to see which emotion could most perfectly embody or represent her sorrow."

Line 3: "All entertain’d, each passion labours so,"

"All entertain’d": All these various emotions are welcomed, accepted, or given room within her. She doesn't suppress them; she allows herself to feel and experience each one. "Entertain'd" suggests a deliberate, though perhaps involuntary, acceptance of their presence.
"each passion labours so": Each individual emotion works extremely hard or exerts itself intensely. "Labours" implies strenuous effort, suggesting that each feeling is striving vigorously to manifest and express itself.
Meaning: "All these emotions are experienced, and each individual emotion works so diligently to express itself."

Line 4: "That every present sorrow seemeth chief,"

"every present sorrow": Each specific manifestation or aspect of her sorrow that she is feeling at any given moment. This highlights the immediacy and shifting focus of her pain.
"seemeth chief": Appears to be the most important, dominant, or overwhelming emotion at that particular instant. Because each passion "labours so," whatever she feels right then takes precedence, making it feel like the primary pain.
Meaning: "So that whatever aspect of her sorrow she is feeling at any moment seems like the most dominant one."

Line 5: "But none is best; then join they all together,"

"But none is best": No single emotion ultimately manages to dominate, prove superior, or fully encapsulate all the others as the definitive expression of her grief. There is no single "right" or all-encompassing feeling.
"then join they all together": Instead of one emotion winning out, all the individual emotions combine or merge into a unified, more powerful, and comprehensive emotional force.
Meaning: "But no single emotion proves to be the definitive or superior one; instead, they all combine."

Line 6: "Like many clouds consulting for foul weather."

"Like many clouds consulting": This is a vivid simile. It compares her coalescing emotions to individual clouds gathering and seemingly conferring or deliberating. "Consulting" personifies the clouds, suggesting a deliberate coming together. Shakespeare uses this image to prepare the reader for a significant outcome.
"for foul weather": To produce a severe storm or tempestuous conditions. The outcome of the emotions joining is not just sadness, but a powerful, destructive, or overwhelming emotional deluge. "Foul weather" implies a truly terrible and devastating turn.
Meaning: "Like many clouds gathering and conferring to produce a terrible storm."

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"passions throng," "striving who should best become her grief," "each passion labours," "clouds consulting"	Gives human actions, thoughts, and qualities to abstract emotions and natural phenomena. This vividly portrays Venus's internal turmoil as a dynamic, almost conscious struggle, making her grief palpable and relatable. It emphasizes the active and competitive nature of her feelings.
Simile	"Like many clouds consulting for foul weather."	Creates a powerful visual metaphor that likens the merging of Venus's emotions to the formation of a storm. This suggests a building, destructive force, predicting an overwhelming emotional outburst or a descent into profound, all-encompassing despair.
Juxtaposition	"Variable passions" vs. "constant woe"	Highlights the paradox and complexity of Venus's grief: an unwavering, deep core of sorrow surrounded by a tumultuous, ever-changing array of specific emotions. This emphasizes the multifaceted and pervasive nature of her pain.
Metaphor (Implied)	"Variable passions throng her constant woe"	The "woe" is implicitly treated as a fixed space or foundation that is being crowded by the "passions." This conveys the overwhelming quantity and dynamic movement of her emotions pressing upon an enduring core of sorrow, illustrating the suffocating intensity of her grief.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

Stanza 162 offers a profound psychological analysis of Venus's grief following Adonis's death. It goes beyond a simple declaration of sadness to dissect the complex internal mechanics of profound sorrow.

The stanza's overall meaning centers on the multi-faceted and dynamic nature of intense grief. It illustrates that grief is not a singular, monolithic emotion but a tumultuous interplay of various "passions" (despair, anguish, rage, etc.) that compete for dominance. Despite this internal struggle, there remains a "constant woe," a foundational, unyielding core of sorrow that underpins all other fluctuating feelings. The ultimate conclusion, depicted in the powerful simile of "clouds consulting for foul weather," is that these individual emotions do not find a single champion but instead coalesce into a unified, overwhelming, and potentially destructive force.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis:

The Consequence of Unrequited/Lost Love: This stanza powerfully depicts the devastating aftermath of Venus's unfulfilled desire and the tragic loss of Adonis. It underscores the destructive potential of passion when it turns to grief, providing a stark counterpoint to the earlier scenes of her ardent pursuit. Her grief is as consuming as her earlier desire.
The Power of Emotion: The stanza emphasizes the uncontrollable and overwhelming power of human (or divine) emotion. Venus's passions are not merely feelings; they are active, competing entities that ultimately merge into an irresistible force, foreshadowing her subsequent curses against love, beauty, and the natural order. Her grief is a force of nature.
Foreshadowing Despair and Transformation: The "foul weather" simile is highly significant. It foreshadows Venus's deep and lasting despair, and her subsequent transformation from the goddess of love into a figure marked by perpetual mourning. Her grief becomes so profound that she vows to never again let love be simple or straightforward, thus altering the very nature of love in the world (a key theme in the poem). This stanza marks a crucial turning point, leading to the poem's melancholic conclusion.