Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis
All swoln with chafing, down Adonis sits,
Banning his boisterous and unruly beast:
And now the happy season once more fits,
That love-sick Love by pleading may be blest;
For lovers say, the heart hath treble wrong
When it is barr’d the aidance of the tongue.
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | "Banning his boisterous and unruly beast" (Line 2) | The repetition of the 'b' sound emphasizes Adonis's harshness and the wild, uncontrolled nature of his horse, adding to the stanza's sonic intensity. |
| "love-sick Love" (Line 4) | The repetition of the 'l' sound draws attention to Venus's intense longing and the personification of Love, making the phrase more memorable and lyrical. | |
| "heart hath" (Line 5) | The repetition of the 'h' sound subtly highlights the suffering of the heart, lending a softer, almost sigh-like quality to the line, emphasizing emotional vulnerability. | |
| Personification | "love-sick Love" (Line 4) | Love is personified as a being capable of emotional suffering ("love-sick") and needing to be "blest." This elevates Venus's desire to a universal, almost divine, force, emphasizing the profound nature of her emotional state. |
| "the heart hath treble wrong / When it is barr’d the aidance of the tongue." (Lines 5-6) | The heart is given human attributes of suffering injustice and requiring the "aidance" of the tongue (speech). This vividly conveys the emotional pain caused by unexpressed love and underscores the importance of verbal communication. | |
| Hyperbole | "treble wrong" (Line 5) | The exaggeration of the "wrong" suffered by the heart to be "treble" (threefold or greatly intensified) emphasizes the extreme suffering when love cannot be expressed, adding dramatic force to the argument for communication. |
| Imagery | "All swoln with chafing" (Line 1) | This vivid physical image portrays Adonis's anger as a visible swelling or inflammation, immediately conveying his intense internal frustration and irritation. |
| Metaphor | "aidance of the tongue" (Line 6) | The tongue (speech) is metaphorically presented as a helpful assistant or aid to the heart. This highlights the crucial and supportive role that verbal expression plays in achieving romantic goals or alleviating emotional distress. |
This stanza marks a crucial turning point in Venus and Adonis, immediately following Adonis's failed pursuit of his runaway horse and the mare. Adonis's current state of frustrated anger ("All swoln with chafing") and immobility ("down Adonis sits") creates a window of opportunity for Venus. His furious "Banning his boisterous and unruly beast" signifies his distraction and vexation, effectively removing his previous means of escape (the horse) and rendering him vulnerable, or at least stationary, to Venus's advances.
The stanza then shifts from Adonis's physical and emotional state to Venus's strategic advantage. Lines 3 and 4 explicitly state that "the happy season once more fits" for "love-sick Love" (Venus) to resume her attempts at seduction through "pleading." This highlights Venus's relentless determination and her ability to seize any opportune moment.
The final two lines (5-6) provide a profound philosophical justification for Venus's continued verbose pursuit. The proverbial wisdom, "For lovers say, the heart hath treble wrong / When it is barr’d the aidance of the tongue," underscores a central theme of the poem: the persuasive power of language and the necessity of verbal expression in love. It argues that silence or the inability to communicate one's desires leads to profound suffering. This statement serves as a rationale for Venus's persistent and eloquent speeches throughout the poem; she implicitly understands that her only path to Adonis's affection is through the "aidance of the tongue."
In the broader context, this stanza transitions the narrative from a physical chase to a renewed battle of wits and words. It reinforces the themes of: * Unrequited Love and Desire: Venus's unwavering passion for Adonis. * The Power of Rhetoric and Persuasion: The stanza emphasizes that verbal communication is not merely decorative but essential for achieving romantic success and avoiding emotional "wrong." * Opportunity and Seizing the Moment: Venus's shrewdness in recognizing and exploiting Adonis's temporary weakness. * Frustration and Impotence: Adonis's anger at his uncontrollable horse mirrors his frustration with Venus's advances, but here, he is literally immobile and vulnerable to her verbal onslaught.
This stanza sets the stage for a new phase of intense verbal interaction, where Venus's "pleading" will continue to be a dominant force, even as Adonis remains resistant. It champions the spoken word as the primary vehicle for love's expression and fulfillment.