🌹 Stanza 51 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Sometimes he scuds far off, and there he stares;
Anon he starts at stirring of a feather;
To bid the wind a base he now prepares,
And whe’r he run or fly they know not whether;      
For through his mane and tail the high wind sings,
Fanning the hairs, who wave like feather’d wings.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Sometimes he scuds far off, and there he stares;"

"scuds": To move quickly and lightly. Shakespeare uses this to convey the horse's swift, almost darting movements, emphasizing its agility and untamed energy.
"stares": To look intently or fixedly. This suggests the horse's alertness and wild curiosity, hinting at its untamed nature and keen senses.
Meaning: The horse occasionally runs quickly into the distance and then stops to gaze intently, showcasing its wild energy and watchful nature.

Line 2: "Anon he starts at stirring of a feather;"

"Anon": Soon; immediately; at once. This word highlights the horse's instantaneous reaction time, emphasizing its skittishness and extreme sensitivity.
"starts": To flinch or jump suddenly from surprise or alarm. This indicates the horse's highly strung temperament, easily startled by even the slightest movement.
"stirring of a feather": A metaphor for an incredibly slight or almost imperceptible movement. Shakespeare chooses this to exaggerate the horse's sensitivity, portraying it as exceptionally delicate yet powerful in its reactions.
Meaning: Immediately, he jumps suddenly even at the slightest movement, like the stirring of a feather.

Line 3: "To bid the wind a base he now prepares,"

"bid the wind a base": A reference to the children's game "Prisoner's Base" or "Barley-Break," where players chase each other to a "base" or safe zone. To "bid" the wind a base means to challenge the wind to a race, to set the pace for it, or to outrun it. This personifies the wind as an opponent and emphasizes the horse's unparalleled speed.
Meaning: He now gets ready to race against the wind, challenging it to a contest of speed.

Line 4: "And whe’r he run or fly they know not whether;"

"whe’r": A contraction of "whether."
"they know not whether": It is indistinguishable whether he is running on the ground or soaring through the air. This is a hyperbole, dramatically emphasizing the horse's extraordinary speed, making its movement seem almost supernatural.
Meaning: And onlookers cannot tell if he is running or flying, due to his incredible speed.

Line 5: "For through his mane and tail the high wind sings,"

"high wind sings": A personification of the wind, suggesting a whistling or musical sound as it rushes through the horse's hair during its swift movement. This adds to the imagery of speed and power, making the horse's movement audible and dynamic.
Meaning: Because the strong wind whistles as it passes through his mane and tail.

Line 6: "Fanning the hairs, who wave like feather’d wings."

"Fanning the hairs": The wind spreads out and agitates the horse's mane and tail.
"who wave like feather’d wings": A simile comparing the horse's flowing mane and tail, as they are fanned by the wind, to the wings of a bird. This reinforces the idea of the horse's incredible speed and grace, continuing the "flying" motif from the previous lines and enhancing the visual grandeur of the animal.
Meaning: Making his hairs spread out and wave like actual bird's wings.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"To bid the wind a base"	Gives the wind human-like qualities of being a competitor, emphasizing the horse's unparalleled speed and challenging spirit.
Personification	"the high wind sings"	Imbues the wind with a vocal quality, making its rush through the horse's hair sound like a melody, enhancing the vivid imagery of speed and the horse's dynamic movement.
Simile	"who wave like feather’d wings"	Compares the horse's mane and tail to bird's wings, powerfully reinforcing the impression of incredible speed and grace, and contributing to the theme of the horse's almost aerial movement.
Hyperbole	"whe’r he run or fly they know not whether"	Exaggerates the horse's speed to an unbelievable degree, emphasizing its extraordinary agility and power, suggesting it moves with such swiftness it defies categorization.
Imagery (Visual)	"scuds far off," "stares," "mane and tail," "feather’d wings"	Creates a vivid mental picture of the horse's movements, appearance, and the dynamic interaction with its environment, drawing the reader into the scene and highlighting the animal's magnificent vitality.
Alliteration	"scuds... stares," "starts... stirring," "wind... whether"	Provides a subtle musicality and rhythm to the lines, making them more pleasing to the ear and helping to draw attention to certain words, enhancing the fluidity of the description.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

Stanza 51 is part of Venus's extended, sensuous description of Adonis's horse, which has broken free and is displaying its raw, untamed power and beauty. The stanza's primary purpose is to vividly portray the horse's incredible speed, agility, and wild, uninhibited nature. It showcases the animal as a creature of immense vitality, almost blurring the line between equine movement and flight due to its sheer swiftness.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this description serves several significant functions:

Metaphor for Masculine Virility: Venus uses the horse as a powerful extended metaphor for Adonis himself. The horse's strength, untamed energy, and "uncontrolled" power directly parallel the masculine potency and natural drives that Venus wishes Adonis would direct towards her. She is essentially praising his inherent wildness and vigor, hoping he will recognize and embrace it in love, rather than resisting it.
Rhetorical Persuasion: Venus is attempting to woo Adonis, who is focused on the hunt and resistant to her romantic advances. By lavishly praising his horse – an object of his affection and a symbol of his interests – she subtly tries to redirect his passion. She paints a picture of admirable wildness and freedom, suggesting that these qualities, so evident in his horse, should also manifest in his own capacity for love and passion.
Contrast with Adonis's Reluctance: The horse's unbridled natural instincts and readiness to "bid the wind a base" stand in stark contrast to Adonis's youthful shyness and reluctance to engage in Venus's passionate pursuit. The horse's vitality highlights Adonis's perceived "coldness" or inexperience, making Venus's desire for him more pronounced.
Thematic Link to Nature and Desire: The stanza emphasizes the beauty and power of untamed nature. Venus, as the goddess of love, connects natural vitality with sexual desire. The horse's magnificent display of natural power is implicitly linked to the kind of uninhibited passion Venus craves from Adonis, reinforcing the poem's themes of desire, nature's urges, and the struggle between instinct and youthful restraint.