🌹 Stanza 172 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

As falcon to the lure, away she flies;
The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light;   
And in her haste unfortunately spies
The foul boar’s conquest on her fair delight;
Which seen, her eyes, as murder’d with the view,
Like stars asham’d of day, themselves withdrew:

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: As falcon to the lure, away she flies;

"As falcon to the lure": This is a simile comparing Venus's swift movement to that of a falcon returning to its lure. A lure is an artificial object, often resembling a bird, used to recall a trained falcon. Shakespeare uses this to illustrate Venus's extreme speed and focused determination, driven by her desire for Adonis. The metaphor also subtly hints at a potential trap or a deceptive attraction, given the tragic outcome.
"away she flies": Emphasizes her rapid, almost airborne, movement, conveying a sense of urgency and desperation in her pursuit of Adonis.
Meaning: Venus speeds away, driven by her desire, as swiftly and directly as a trained falcon flies to its lure.

Line 2: The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light;

"The grass stoops not": This hyperbole suggests that her movement is so incredibly light and swift that her feet do not even bend or disturb the blades of grass she runs over. It highlights her ethereal nature and the urgency of her pace.
"she treads on it so light": Reinforces the idea of her extreme lightness and speed, creating vivid imagery of her hurried, almost weightless, passage. Shakespeare emphasizes her divine, graceful movement right before her world is shattered.
Meaning: She moves with such incredible speed and lightness that her footsteps do not even bend the blades of grass beneath her.

Line 3: And in her haste unfortunately spies

"And in her haste": Connects her rapid movement from the previous lines to the crucial moment of discovery. Her speed is directly linked to her unfortunate observation.
"unfortunately spies": "Spies" means to catch sight of suddenly or unexpectedly. The adverb "unfortunately" foreshadows and immediately qualifies the grim nature of what she sees, underscoring the tragic turn of events.
Meaning: And while moving so quickly, she unluckily catches sight of something dreadful.

Line 4: The foul boar’s conquest on her fair delight;

"The foul boar’s conquest": Refers to the boar's victory or triumph over Adonis, specifically his death. "Foul" emphasizes the repulsive and destructive nature of the boar, contrasting sharply with Adonis's beauty. "Conquest" implies a violent, overwhelming victory.
"on her fair delight": "Her fair delight" is a tender epithet for Adonis, highlighting Venus's deep affection and admiration for his beauty. This phrase starkly contrasts the brutal "foul boar's conquest" with the delicate object of her love.
Meaning: She sees the repulsive boar's fatal victory over Adonis, the beautiful object of her affections.

Line 5: Which seen, her eyes, as murder’d with the view,

"Which seen": A concise phrase indicating the immediate consequence of her visual discovery.
"her eyes, as murder’d with the view": This is a powerful simile and hyperbole. It means her eyes were so profoundly shocked and traumatized by the horrific sight that it was as if the view itself had destroyed or killed them. "Murder'd" emphasizes the complete and violent extinction of their light or ability to perceive normally, conveying extreme emotional and psychological impact.
Meaning: Once she saw this, her eyes were so profoundly shocked and damaged by the sight, as if the very act of looking had killed them.

Line 6: Like stars asham’d of day, themselves withdrew:

"Like stars asham’d of day": This exquisite simile compares Venus's eyes (which have been associated with brightness and beauty) to stars that disappear or fade in the presence of daylight. The "shame" here is personification; it implies a reluctance or inability to face the harsh reality of the terrible sight, or perhaps a feeling of shame for witnessing such a tragedy.
"themselves withdrew": This means her eyes closed or averted, refusing to continue looking at the horrific scene. It signifies her immediate, overwhelming emotional retreat from the unbearable truth.
Meaning: Just like stars that disappear or become invisible when daylight appears, her eyes closed themselves away in horror or shame.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Simile	"As falcon to the lure, away she flies"	Compares Venus's swiftness to a trained falcon, emphasizing her speed and single-minded pursuit, while subtly hinting at a pre-destined, almost mechanical, drawing towards a specific (and ultimately tragic) point.
Hyperbole	"The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light"	Exaggerates Venus's ethereal lightness and speed, creating a vivid image of her hurried, almost weightless, movement. This amplifies the dramatic contrast with the gruesome reality she is about to encounter.
Personification	"The grass stoops not", "her eyes, as murder’d", "stars asham’d of day"	Grants human actions or emotions (not stooping, being murdered, feeling shame) to inanimate objects or abstract concepts (grass, eyes, stars). This deepens the emotional impact, making the reaction to the tragedy more profound and the natural world seemingly respond to the horror. "Eyes as murder'd" powerfully conveys the traumatic shock.
Juxtaposition	Venus's graceful, swift movement vs. the gruesome sight of Adonis's death	The striking contrast between the initial lines depicting Venus's elegant haste and the brutal discovery of the "foul boar’s conquest" creates dramatic tension and magnifies the tragedy, highlighting the sudden shift from hope and pursuit to despair and horror.
Imagery	"As falcon to the lure", "The grass stoops not", "foul boar’s conquest", "stars asham’d of day"	Creates vivid mental pictures for the reader, engaging the senses and enhancing the emotional experience. It allows the reader to visualize Venus's speed, the horrific scene, and her immediate, visceral reaction.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza marks the devastating climax of Venus's passionate pursuit of Adonis. Having previously warned him against hunting the boar and enduring a nightmare, Venus's frantic search culminates in the ultimate tragedy. The initial lines vividly portray her urgent speed and almost supernatural grace, emphasizing her desperate desire to reach Adonis. This portrayal of ethereal beauty and urgent motion serves as a stark contrast to the horrific reality she is about to discover.

The sudden, "unfortunate" sighting of "The foul boar’s conquest on her fair delight" is the poem's turning point. It shatters the romantic, albeit unrequited, pursuit and plunges the narrative into profound grief. Adonis, the embodiment of youthful beauty and Venus's object of desire, is revealed to have been brutally killed. Venus's immediate reaction, with her eyes depicted as "murder’d with the view" and withdrawing "Like stars asham’d of day," conveys an overwhelming shock and a complete emotional collapse. Her eyes, often symbols of perception and a gateway to the soul, are rendered dysfunctional by the unbearable sight, reflecting the destructive power of death on beauty and love.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this stanza signifies the triumph of death and violence over beauty and love. It underscores the poem's central themes of the transience of life, the unpredictability of fate, and the futility of even divine power in the face of mortal doom. Venus's desperate efforts to protect Adonis ultimately fail, leading her to experience profound sorrow and setting the stage for her subsequent lament and the transformation of Adonis into the Adonis flower, a lasting symbol of her grief. It is the moment where the poem shifts from a tale of passionate pursuit to one of loss and the origins of a myth.