🌹 Stanza 31 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

And now Adonis with a lazy spright,
And with a heavy, dark, disliking eye,
His louring brows o’erwhelming his fair sight,
Like misty vapours when they blot the sky,  
Souring his cheeks, cries, ‘Fie! no more of love:
The sun doth burn my face; I must remove.’

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "And now Adonis with a lazy spright,"

"lazy spright": Adonis's "spright" refers to his spirit, mind, or disposition. The word "lazy" here indicates that his spirit is sluggish, unenthusiastic, or disinclined to exert itself, particularly in response to Venus's advances. Shakespeare uses "lazy" to convey Adonis's fundamental disinterest and lack of ardour, contrasting sharply with Venus's passionate energy.
Meaning: And at this moment, Adonis displays a spirit that is lethargic and unwilling.

Line 2: "And with a heavy, dark, disliking eye,"

"heavy, dark, disliking eye": This phrase describes Adonis's gaze. "Heavy" suggests a dull, drooping, or spiritless look, possibly indicating weariness or boredom. "Dark" conveys somberness or gloom, while "disliking" explicitly states his strong aversion or distaste for the situation and Venus's pursuit. Shakespeare emphasizes his rejection not just in his words, but through his profound physical expression of disapproval.
Meaning: And he looks at Venus with a dull, gloomy, and utterly disapproving gaze.

Line 3: "His louring brows o’erwhelming his fair sight,"

"louring brows": "Louring" (or lowering) refers to his eyebrows being drawn down, creating a scowling, frowning, or grim expression. It often suggests a dark, gloomy, or menacing appearance, like a stormy sky.
"o’erwhelming his fair sight": His scowling brows are overshadowing or obscuring his inherently beautiful eyes ("fair sight"), or perhaps even the pleasantness of his overall appearance. This suggests his displeasure is so intense it physically contorts his face, diminishing his famed beauty.
Meaning: His scowling eyebrows are casting a shadow over his beautiful eyes, making his face appear grim.

Line 4: "Like misty vapours when they blot the sky,"

"Like misty vapours when they blot the sky": This is a simile directly comparing Adonis's scowling brows (and the gloom they convey) to thick mists or fogs that spread out and obscure the brightness and clarity of a clear sky. Shakespeare uses this image to intensify the visual of Adonis's displeasure, showing how it covers his innate beauty just as fog obscures the sun.
Meaning: Just as misty fogs spread and obscure the clear sky.

Line 5: "Souring his cheeks, cries, ‘Fie! no more of love:"

"Souring his cheeks": His expression of displeasure is making his cheeks appear grim, bitter, or unpleasant, as if twisted by a sour taste. "Souring" conveys a sense of something desirable becoming disagreeable, reflecting his internal state outwardly onto his physical appearance.
"Fie!": An exclamation of strong disgust, disapproval, or annoyance, often used to express a sense of shame or contempt. It is an abrupt and forceful rejection of what Venus is saying and doing.
"no more of love": Adonis emphatically states his desire for Venus to cease her passionate overtures and the topic of love entirely. This is his direct, verbal repudiation.
Meaning: His face contorting in distaste, he exclaims, ‘No! I want no more of this talk about love!’

Line 6: "The sun doth burn my face; I must remove.’"

"The sun doth burn my face": This is Adonis's excuse for wanting to leave. It's a plausible but ultimately transparent pretext, avoiding the true reason for his discomfort, which is Venus's presence and advances. It subtly highlights his delicate nature or immaturity, unable to withstand the sun, contrasting with Venus's robust passion.
"I must remove": "Remove" here means to go away or depart. It signifies his immediate and urgent desire to escape the situation.
Meaning: ‘The sun is burning my face; I need to go away from here.’

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Imagery	"heavy, dark, disliking eye," "louring brows," "souring his cheeks"	Creates a vivid visual impression of Adonis's extreme displeasure and revulsion, making his emotional state palpable to the reader. It emphasizes his physical reaction to Venus's advances.
Simile	"Like misty vapours when they blot the sky" (Line 4)	Compares Adonis's scowling expression to a natural phenomenon, illustrating how his displeasure obscures his inherent beauty and casts a shadow, just as fog obscures a clear sky. It enhances the sense of gloom and aversion emanating from him.
Metaphor/Figurative Language	"lazy spright" (Line 1), "souring his cheeks" (Line 5)	Attributes a human quality (laziness) to an abstract concept (spirit), and implies a metaphorical taste (sour) to a visual expression, effectively conveying Adonis's disinterest and distaste through vivid, non-literal descriptions.
Exclamation/Interjection	"Fie!" (Line 5)	A sudden, sharp utterance that conveys strong disgust, disapproval, or annoyance. It highlights Adonis's immediate and unequivocal rejection of Venus's proposition, adding dramatic emphasis to his words.
Pretext/Evasion	"The sun doth burn my face; I must remove." (Line 6)	Adonis provides an insincere reason for his departure, masking his true disgust and aversion to Venus and her advances. This reveals his immaturity and his desire to escape the confrontation without directly acknowledging his feelings about her.
Alliteration	"lazy spright" (Line 1), "disliking eye, / His louring brows" (Line 2-3), "Souring his cheeks" (Line 5)	The repetition of initial consonant sounds adds a subtle musicality and rhythm to the verse, drawing attention to the words and reinforcing their connection, such as the emphasis on Adonis's negative facial expressions.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza marks a pivotal moment in the narrative, as Adonis transitions from passive resistance to outright, vocal rejection of Venus's advances. His disgust is palpable, conveyed through a symphony of physical manifestations: his "lazy spright," "heavy, dark, disliking eye," "louring brows," and "souring cheeks." The simile of "misty vapours" further emphasizes how his displeasure physically darkens and obscures his youthful beauty.

His sharp exclamation of "Fie! no more of love" is a direct, emphatic dismissal of Venus's passionate overtures and the very concept of love as she presents it. This is a crucial instance where Adonis directly articulates his aversion, moving beyond mere attempts to escape. His subsequent excuse, "The sun doth burn my face; I must remove," is a transparent pretext, highlighting his immaturity and his desire to escape the situation without a direct confrontation. It underscores his fundamental inability or unwillingness to engage with the intense emotions Venus embodies.

In the broader context of the poem, this stanza deepens the central conflict between unbridled passion (Venus) and youthful aversion/innocence (Adonis). Adonis's reaction here solidifies his character as one who is not merely indifferent, but actively repulsed by the sensual, consuming love Venus offers. This stands in stark contrast to the goddess of love herself, creating a powerful irony. His disdain for "love" (meaning Venus's sexual desire) also foreshadows his eventual demise. His rejection of Venus's life-giving passion, and his preference for the "cold" pursuit of the hunt, aligns him with a path that ultimately leads to death. The stanza reinforces the theme of power dynamics and gender role reversal, with the male Adonis holding emotional sway and the power to reject, leaving the goddess of love frustrated and desperate. His use of a flimsy excuse to leave further highlights his immaturity and unwillingness to engage with the adult world of desire that Venus represents.