Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis
'When he beheld his shadow in the brook,
The fishes spread on it their golden gills;
When he was by, the birds such pleasure took,
That some would sing, some other in their bills
Would bring him mulberries and ripe-red cherries
He fed them with his sight, they him with berries.
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Reciprocity | "He fed them with his sight, they him with berries" | Shows mutual exchange between beauty and nature |
| Personification | Fish and birds responding with joy and gifts | Gives animals human emotions and behaviors |
| Symbolism | Fish spreading golden gills | Gold represents precious, valuable response to beauty |
| Parallel Structure | "some would sing, some other...would bring" | Shows variety in nature's responses to beauty |
| Color Imagery | "golden gills," "ripe-red cherries" | Creates rich, abundant visual palette |
| Chiasmus | "He fed them...they him" | Creates balanced exchange between Adonis and nature |
| Natural Harmony | All creatures responding positively | Shows Adonis as center of natural harmony |
| Reflection Motif | "shadow in the brook" | His image is so beautiful even his reflection affects nature |
This stanza presents an idealized vision of Adonis's relationship with nature, showing how his beauty created perfect harmony with the natural world. It serves as Venus's lament for what the world has lost and emphasizes the tragedy of his death.
The Narcissus Echo: The image of Adonis looking at his reflection in the brook echoes the myth of Narcissus, but with a crucial difference—while Narcissus fell in love with his own image, Adonis's reflection brings joy to other creatures.
Perfect Reciprocity: The final line creates a perfect exchange economy where beauty serves as currency. Adonis gives beauty ("fed them with his sight") and receives sustenance in return, showing ideal harmony between human beauty and natural provision.
Universal Response to Beauty: Every element of nature—fish, birds, even his own reflection—responds positively to Adonis's presence. This suggests that true beauty creates universal harmony rather than conflict.
Active Nature: Unlike passive admiration, nature actively serves Adonis—fish spread their gills, birds bring fruit. His beauty inspires service rather than mere appreciation.
The Economics of Beauty: Venus presents a world where beauty has practical value—it can be "fed" to creatures and exchanged for sustenance. This elevates aesthetic appreciation to a fundamental life force.
Variety in Response: Different creatures respond differently (singing vs. bringing fruit), showing that beauty inspires diverse but universally positive reactions.
Golden Age Imagery: This stanza presents an Edenic vision where human beauty and nature exist in perfect balance, with no conflict or exploitation.
What the World Has Lost: By describing this perfect harmony in the past tense, Venus emphasizes the cosmic loss that Adonis's death represents—not just individual loss but universal disruption.
Beauty as Nourishment: The metaphor of feeding suggests that beauty is not merely decorative but essential sustenance for all living things.
The Tragedy of Disruption: This harmonious scene makes the violence of the boar attack even more tragic—it destroyed not just a person but an entire ecosystem of beauty and joy.
This stanza serves as Venus's strongest argument for why Adonis's death is a cosmic tragedy, showing him as the center of a natural harmony that can never be restored.