🌹 Stanza 48 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

What recketh he his rider’s angry stir,
His flattering ‘Holla’, or his ‘Stand, I say’?      
What cares he now for curb or pricking spur?
For rich caparisons or trapping gay?
He sees his love, and nothing else he sees,
Nor nothing else with his proud sight agrees.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "What recketh he his rider’s angry stir,"

• "What recketh he": "Recketh" means cares about, pays attention to, or regards. This rhetorical question emphasizes the horse's complete indifference.
• "his rider’s angry stir": "Stir" refers to the movement of the rider's legs or body, often agitated or frustrated, used to command or urge the horse. It signifies the rider's attempts to control the horse through physical means.
• Meaning: "Why would the horse care about his rider's agitated movements?"

Line 2: "His flattering ‘Holla’, or his ‘Stand, I say’?"

• "His flattering ‘Holla’": "Holla" is an exclamation used to call attention or command, similar to "hey" or "hello." "Flattering" suggests the rider's attempt to coax or cajole the horse with a gentle tone, trying to appeal to it rather than force it.
• "or his ‘Stand, I say’": This is a direct, emphatic command from the rider, indicating a more forceful verbal attempt to halt or control the horse.
• Meaning: "Why would he listen to his rider's gentle calls, or even his stern commands like ‘Stand, I say’?"

Line 3: "What cares he now for curb or pricking spur?"

• "curb": A strap or chain forming part of a horse's bridle, passing under its chin, used to control the horse by exerting pressure. It represents an external means of physical control.
• "pricking spur": A device with a sharp point or rotating rowel worn on a rider's heel, used to urge a horse forward by jabbing its flanks. "Pricking" highlights the painful and forceful nature of this control.
• Meaning: "Why would he now care about the restrictive curb or the painful spur?"

Line 4: "For rich caparisons or trapping gay?"

• "rich caparisons": Elaborate, often ornamental coverings or decorative harnesses for a horse, typically signifying wealth, status, or special occasion. "Rich" implies their luxurious and valuable nature.
• "trapping gay": "Trapping" refers to the decorative accouterments or ornaments for a horse, similar to caparisons. "Gay" in this context means splendid, brightly colored, showy, or festive. Both phrases refer to the superficial, external adornments meant to enhance the horse's appearance.
• Meaning: "Why would he care about luxurious coverings or showy ornaments?"

Line 5: "He sees his love, and nothing else he sees,"

• "He sees his love": This line personifies the horse, attributing to it the human emotion and concept of "love," specifically referring to a mare it is pursuing. This marks the singular focus of the horse's desire.
• "and nothing else he sees": This phrase uses emphatic repetition to highlight the horse's complete and all-consuming focus on its object of desire, ignoring everything else around it.
• Meaning: "He sees the mare he loves, and he sees absolutely nothing else."

Line 6: "Nor nothing else with his proud sight agrees."

• "Nor nothing else": This is a double negative, common in Elizabethan English, which serves to intensify the negation, meaning "and nothing else."
• "with his proud sight agrees": "Agrees" here means accords with, pleases, or is in harmony with. "Proud sight" refers to the horse's gaze, which is now fixed triumphantly on its goal, implying that anything else is unworthy of its attention or fails to capture its interest.
• Meaning: "And nothing else pleases his focused, triumphant gaze."

🎭 Literary Devices

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza vividly describes the horse's complete and utter disregard for any external control, comfort, or ornamentation once it is seized by its innate desire to find its "love," a mare. It is deaf to commands, impervious to pain (curb, spur), and indifferent to luxury (caparisons, trapping gay). The horse's entire being is consumed by its singular purpose, its "proud sight" fixed solely on its object of affection.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this description of the horse serves as a powerful allegory and ironic parallel to the main narrative. The horse's uncontrollable, instinct-driven pursuit of its mate mirrors Venus's own overwhelming, relentless, and unrequited pursuit of Adonis. Just as the horse sheds all external constraints and distractions for the sake of its natural desire, Venus, driven by passion, disregards Adonis's youth, his resistance, and his preference for hunting. However, the outcomes differ: the horse successfully follows its instinct and finds its mate, while Venus's passionate advances are ultimately rejected by Adonis, leading to frustration and tragedy.

The horse's wild freedom and its success in following its primal urge highlight the raw, elemental power of nature and desire when unfettered. It underscores a key theme of the poem: the often-overwhelming force of natural sexual instinct versus the resistance to it (as shown by Adonis) or the attempt to impose it (as shown by Venus). The horse, acting purely on instinct, achieves its aim, suggesting that natural desire, when allowed to run its course, is a powerful and unstoppable force. This starkly contrasts with Venus's forced and ultimately futile attempts to bend Adonis to her will, implicitly suggesting that true love or attraction cannot be compelled by force or persuasion, unlike the horse's unyielding natural drive.