🌹 Stanza 166 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Now she unweaves the web that she hath wrought,
Adonis lives, and Death is not to blame;    
It was not she that call’d him all to naught,
Now she adds honours to his hateful name;
She clepes him king of graves, and grave for kings,
Imperious supreme of all mortal things.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Now she unweaves the web that she hath wrought,"

• "Now she unweaves": This signifies a sudden and profound change in Venus's mental state and perspective. "Unweaves" suggests the deliberate undoing or dismantling of something intricate and complex, much like unpicking a tapestry. Shakespeare chooses this to convey the act of dismantling a carefully constructed, but ultimately false, belief system or emotional state.
• "the web that she hath wrought": "Wrought" means made or created. The "web" is a metaphor for the intricate, tangled narrative of despair, self-blame, and belief in Adonis's death that Venus had constructed in her mind. It can also imply a trap of her own making, or a complex mental construct of grief and guilt. Shakespeare uses "web" to evoke something finely spun, perhaps fragile, which can now be easily unraveled.
• Meaning: "Now Venus unravels the complex mental construct of despair and guilt that she had created for herself."

Line 2: "Adonis lives, and Death is not to blame;"

• "Adonis lives": This is the sudden, pivotal realization that shatters Venus's previous lamentations. It provides immediate relief and completely shifts her emotional trajectory.
• "and Death is not to blame": Since Adonis is not dead, the personified entity of Death cannot be held accountable for his demise. This absolves the external force Venus might have previously blamed, and implicitly, frees her from the self-blame she felt for having (she thought) caused his end.
• Meaning: "Adonis is alive, and therefore, the personification of Death cannot be held responsible for his supposed end."

Line 3: "It was not she that call’d him all to naught,"

• "It was not she": This refers directly to Venus, absolving her of the personal responsibility she felt for Adonis's supposed fate.
• "that call’d him all to naught": "Call'd him all to naught" means caused him to be ruined, destroyed, or brought to nothing. Venus had been tormented by the thought that her relentless pursuit or her overwhelming love had somehow led to Adonis's demise or disappearance. This line clears her of that specific guilt.
• Meaning: "She herself was not the one who caused his ruin or death."

Line 4: "Now she adds honours to his hateful name;"

• "Now she adds honours": In stark contrast to her previous state of grief and despair, Venus now bestows praise and glory upon Adonis. The "now" emphasizes the abrupt and dramatic change in her perception and emotional state.
• "to his hateful name": "Hateful" here refers to how his name had become associated with sorrow, loss, or his stubborn rejection of her advances, which she might have privately resented. It does not imply she hated him, but rather the painful associations his name carried. The shift from "hateful" (due to grief or frustration) to "honoured" highlights the profound transformation in her emotional landscape.
• Meaning: "At this moment, she begins to bestow great praise and glory upon his name, which she previously associated with pain or frustration."

Line 5: "She clepes him king of graves, and grave for kings,"

• "She clepes him": "Clepes" is an archaic verb meaning "calls" or "names." Shakespeare uses this older word to give a sense of formal proclamation or a weighty declaration to Venus's titles for Adonis.
• "king of graves": This is a powerful and paradoxical title for someone who has just been declared alive. It suggests Adonis's beauty and allure are so potent that he holds dominion even over death, or that he is the ultimate prize even for the realm of the dead. It hints at his eventual transformation, giving him a sort of immortal power.
• "and grave for kings": This further elevates his status. He is so profoundly beautiful or significant that even the most powerful mortals ("kings") would be utterly consumed or humbled by him, metaphorically finding their ultimate resting place or surrender in his presence. The use of "grave" here plays on both the literal burial place and a sense of profoundness or ultimate end.
• Meaning: "She proclaims him the master of death and the ultimate, overwhelming force before which even powerful rulers would yield."

Line 6: "Imperious supreme of all mortal things."

• "Imperious supreme": "Imperious" means commanding, domineering, or arrogant, suggesting absolute authority. "Supreme" means the highest in rank or power. Together, they emphasize Venus's hyperbolic elevation of Adonis to the highest possible status.
• "of all mortal things": This completes Venus's declaration, asserting Adonis's unparalleled power, beauty, and dominance over all living, earthly beings. It signifies her complete adoration and the idealized image she has formed of him.
• Meaning: "He is the commanding, ultimate ruler among all living beings."

🎭 Literary Devices

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

Stanza 166 marks a dramatic and pivotal shift in Venus's emotional arc within the poem. After an extended period of profound lamentation, self-recrimination, and despair over Adonis's supposed death, she suddenly realizes he is alive (a realization that, while true in the immediate moment of the stanza, ironically precedes his actual, eventual death and transformation later in the poem). This realization acts as a catalyst, completely overturning her previous state of mind.

The stanza vividly illustrates Venus's volatile and extreme emotional swings. Her "unweaving the web" symbolizes the dismantling of her carefully constructed narrative of grief and guilt, freeing her from its entanglement. This immediate absolution allows her to pivot from blaming herself and "Death" to an unrestrained, almost deifying admiration for Adonis.

The hyperbolic titles she bestows upon him—"king of graves," "grave for kings," and "Imperious supreme of all mortal things"—are highly significant. They reflect her idealized, almost obsessive love, projecting onto Adonis qualities of ultimate power, beauty, and dominion that transcend mere mortality. This intense praise highlights:

• The Power of Love and Desire: Venus's love is so consuming that it compels her to elevate Adonis to a near-divine status, perceiving him as the ultimate being who can even master death itself. This underscores the poem's exploration of desire as an overwhelming, transformative force.
• The Irony of Foreshadowing: While Venus celebrates Adonis's life, the titles "king of graves" and "grave for kings" ironically foreshadow his actual death later in the poem. His transformation into a flower, emerging from the ground where he falls, gives him a metaphorical "kingship" over a form of death and rebirth, making him a "grave for kings" in the sense that his beauty can "bury" or overwhelm even the most powerful.
• Adonis's Elusive Nature: Even in her praise, Venus attributes a powerful, almost detached supremacy to Adonis. His consistent resistance to her advances makes him all the more desirable and, in her mind, deserving of such lofty, almost unapproachable, titles.

Overall, this stanza serves as a temporary respite from the poem's overarching themes of unrequited love and the inevitability of death. It showcases Venus's passionate, volatile nature and the profound effect Adonis has on her, even as it subtly hints at the tragic beauty that will define his ultimate fate. It emphasizes that even in life, his beauty holds a commanding, almost death-defying, power in Venus's eyes.