🌹 Stanza 45 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds,
And now his woven girths he breaks asunder;
The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds,
Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven’s thunder;
The iron bit he crusheth ‘tween his teeth,        
Controlling what he was controlled with.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds,"

"Imperiously": In a commanding, arrogant, or domineering manner; with a sense of superior power. Shakespeare chose this word to immediately establish the horse's majestic, untamed, and defiant nature, setting the tone for its subsequent actions of breaking free.
"leaps": Jumps forcefully and high, indicating great energy and an uninhibited, wild spirit.
"neighs": The loud, characteristic cry of a horse, often associated with excitement, challenge, or a display of dominance. It adds an auditory dimension to the horse's powerful presence.
"bounds": Springs forward or moves with long, powerful strides, suggesting unrestricted and vigorous movement across the ground.
Meaning: The horse, asserting its dominant will, jumps energetically, whinnies loudly, and moves with powerful, unbridled leaps.

Line 2: "And now his woven girths he breaks asunder;"

"woven girths": Strong straps, typically made of woven material like leather or heavy fabric, that pass under a horse's belly to secure the saddle. "Woven" emphasizes their designed strength and durability.
"breaks asunder": Rips or tears apart violently into separate pieces. "Asunder" means into pieces. This phrase highlights the extraordinary physical strength of the horse, capable of destroying restraints meant to control it.
Meaning: And now, with immense force, he tears apart the strong straps that were holding his saddle in place.

Line 3: "The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds,"

"bearing earth": The ground that supports, carries, and endures the weight of all things upon it. It evokes a sense of the earth as a foundational and enduring entity.
"hard hoof": The tough, keratinous protective covering on a horse's foot. "Hard" emphasizes its density and the forceful impact it can create.
"wounds": Causes damage or injury to; marks or mars. This use of "wounds" personifies the earth, suggesting that the horse's powerful impact is so severe it can literally hurt the ground, emphasizing the ferocity of its actions.
Meaning: He strikes the supportive ground so powerfully with his solid hooves that he damages or scars it.

Line 4: "Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven’s thunder;"

"Whose hollow womb": "Whose" refers to the "bearing earth." "Hollow womb" personifies the earth further, imagining its depths as a resonant, almost living cavity. "Womb" suggests a deep, inner, potentially life-giving or foundational part of the earth.
"resounds": Echoes loudly, reverberates, or produces a deep, prolonged sound.
"like heaven’s thunder": A powerful simile comparing the sound emanating from the earth to the overwhelming, awe-inspiring sound of thunder from the sky. This comparison magnifies the intensity and magnitude of the sound, elevating the horse's actions to a cosmic scale.
Meaning: The deep, inner parts of the earth echo loudly with a sound as mighty and imposing as thunder from the sky.

Line 5: "The iron bit he crusheth ‘tween his teeth,"

"iron bit": The metal mouthpiece of a bridle, placed in a horse's mouth, used to guide and control the animal. "Iron" underscores its hardness and its role as an instrument of control.
"crusheth": Crushes, grinds, or applies extreme force to break or deform something hard. This verb emphasizes the horse's incredible jaw strength and its violent rejection of restraint.
"‘tween his teeth": Between his teeth.
Meaning: He forcefully grinds and damages the hard metal bit of the bridle with his teeth.

Line 6: "Controlling what he was controlled with."

"Controlling": Taking mastery over, dominating, or asserting power.
"what he was controlled with": Refers directly to the "iron bit," the very instrument used to subjugate and direct the horse. This phrase highlights a dramatic reversal of power and a profound act of defiance.
Meaning: He is now asserting his dominance over and breaking the very instrument that was previously used to control him.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds," "Whose hollow womb resounds"	Gives human-like qualities (being wounded, having a womb that resounds) to the earth, emphasizing the profound and almost violent impact of the horse's actions. It elevates the horse's power to something that can affect even the fundamental elements of nature.
Simile	"Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven’s thunder"	Compares the sound of the earth's reverberation to the immense power of thunder, enhancing the sense of awe, power, and overwhelming noise associated with the horse's movements.
Alliteration	"hard hoof he wounds," "hollow womb"	The repetition of consonant sounds (H) creates a rhythmic effect, making the lines more memorable and emphasizing the force and impact being described.
Hyperbole	"wounds" the earth, "crusheth" the iron bit	Exaggerates the horse's physical strength and destructive capability beyond realistic limits to convey its immense power and untamed nature.
Imagery	"leaps, he neighs, he bounds," "breaks asunder," "hard hoof," "hollow womb," "iron bit"	Creates vivid mental pictures and sensory experiences (sight, sound, tactile sensation) of the horse's actions and the objects involved, making its struggle for freedom tangible and dramatic.
Inversion of Power / Antithesis	"Controlling what he was controlled with"	Dramatically highlights the complete reversal of power dynamics. The object of control (the bit) is now being controlled by its former master (the horse), underscoring the horse's triumph and fierce independence.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza vividly portrays the unbridled power, wildness, and ultimate independence of Adonis's horse as it spectacularly breaks free from all human control. The horse's actions are described with immense energy and destructive force – shattering its gear, metaphorically wounding the earth, and even crushing the iron bit that once commanded it. The final line, "Controlling what he was controlled with," serves as a powerful summary of this defiant liberation, where the instrument of subjugation is itself subdued.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this magnificent display by the horse functions as a profound parallel and symbolic foreshadowing of Adonis himself. Just as the horse cannot be tamed or confined by artificial restraints and asserts its primal, natural will, so too does Adonis resist Venus's passionate advances and attempts to "control" his affections. His youthful, untamed spirit prioritizes his chaste pursuits (hunting) over Venus's erotic love. The horse's violent rejection of the bit and girths mirrors Adonis's steadfast refusal of Venus's persuasive efforts and the "yoke" of love she wishes to place upon him.

The stanza emphasizes themes of freedom versus constraint, nature versus culture/civilization, and the overwhelming force of innate desire and will. The horse's raw, almost mythical power—capable of making the "earth's womb resound like heaven's thunder"—underscores the idea that some natural forces, like the horse's wildness or Adonis's youth and resistance to love, cannot be easily manipulated or contained. This serves to elevate Adonis's own aloofness and independence, making his eventual tragic end (dying while hunting, not yielding to love) more resonant as a consequence of his untamed nature, which, like the horse's, cannot be constrained.