🌹 Stanza 66 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

‘How like a Jade he stood, tied to the tree,
Servilely master’d with a leathern rein!    
But when he saw his love, his youth’s fair fee,
He held such petty bondage in disdain;
Throwing the base thong from his bending crest,
Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: ‘How like a Jade he stood, tied to the tree,

• "How like a Jade he stood": This is a simile comparing Adonis to a "Jade," which refers to a worn-out, ill-tempered, or worthless horse, often one kept for drudgery or an unruly mare. Shakespeare uses this to depict Adonis's initial resistance, obstinacy, and lack of responsiveness to Venus's advances, likening him to a stubborn animal. It suggests he was perceived as unwilling and uncooperative.
• "tied to the tree": This continues the equine metaphor, literally describing the state of a tethered horse. Metaphorically, it implies that Adonis was held back or restrained, perhaps by his youth, innocence, or simply his disinterest in Venus's amorous pursuit, making him seem immobile or unwilling to engage.
• Meaning: "He stood like a stubborn, worn-out horse, as if tethered to a tree."

Line 2: Servilely master’d with a leathern rein!

• "Servilely master’d": "Servilely" means submissively, like a servant or slave; "master'd" means controlled or dominated. This phrase emphasizes the complete and abject control exerted over the "Jade" (Adonis), highlighting a state of passive submission. Shakespeare uses "servilely" to underline the perceived lack of agency or spirit in his previous state.
• "with a leathern rein!": This directly extends the horse metaphor. The "leathern rein" is a symbol of control and restraint. It represents whatever it was that previously held Adonis back or made him seem unresponsive to Venus – perhaps his natural inclination towards innocence, his dedication to the hunt, or even Venus's own overwhelming attempts to direct him.
• Meaning: "He was submissively controlled, as if by a leather rein."

Line 3: But when he saw his love, his youth’s fair fee,

• "But when he saw his love": This marks a dramatic shift and the turning point of Adonis's behavior. "His love" here is crucial; it refers to the wild boar that Adonis is passionately determined to hunt, not Venus. This highlights that Adonis's desires lie outside Venus's romantic pursuits.
• "his youth’s fair fee": "Fee" here means a reward, prize, or rightful possession. The boar is presented as the fitting and noble reward for Adonis's youthful vigor, courage, and passion for hunting. Shakespeare uses "fair fee" to elevate the boar to a deserving trophy, emphasizing that it is what Adonis truly values and seeks, in stark contrast to the 'rewards' Venus offers.
• Meaning: "But when he saw what he truly loved, his youth's rightful prize (the boar),"

Line 4: He held such petty bondage in disdain;

• "He held such petty bondage": "Petty" means trivial, insignificant, or contemptible. "Bondage" refers to servitude, restraint, or a state of being held captive, directly referencing the "leathern rein" and the perceived control from the previous lines. The use of "petty" diminishes the significance of whatever previously restrained him.
• "in disdain": This means with contempt, scorn, or a feeling of strong dislike. This phrase emphasizes Adonis's powerful and sudden rejection of any form of control or restraint when faced with his true desire. He actively despises the state of being held back.
• Meaning: "He scorned and rejected such trivial restraint with contempt;"

Line 5: Throwing the base thong from his bending crest,

• "Throwing the base thong": "Base" here can mean low, ignoble, or despicable, implying that the restraint was unworthy of him. "Thong" refers to a strap or rein. This describes a forceful, physical action, a violent rejection of the metaphorical restraint. The word "base" reinforces the idea that what held him back was beneath him.
• "from his bending crest": "Crest" refers to the top of a horse's neck where the mane grows, or more generally, the head. "Bending" suggests the motion of a horse tossing its head violently to throw off a bridle or halter. This vivid image continues the horse metaphor, emphasizing Adonis's powerful and defiant act of liberation.
• Meaning: "Forcefully throwing the contemptible strap from his head, which he tossed back,"

Line 6: Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast.

• "Enfranchising his mouth": "Enfranchising" means setting free, liberating, or granting freedom/rights. In the context of a horse, it refers to freeing its mouth from the bit and bridle. For Adonis, it signifies that he is now free to pursue his desires without inhibition, asserting his own will and no longer being silenced or restrained. Shakespeare uses "enfranchising" to suggest a powerful, almost legally significant act of self-liberation.
• "his back, his breast": These body parts further extend the metaphor of complete liberation. By freeing these parts from the 'rein' (the back from a saddle or burden, the breast from being held in), the lines suggest a full and unburdened freedom of movement and spirit for Adonis, symbolizing his entire being released from external control.
• Meaning: "Liberating his mouth, his back, and his breast completely."

🎭 Literary Devices

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza is pivotal in Venus and Adonis because it dramatically shifts the narrative focus from Venus's desires and attempts at seduction to Adonis's own will and motivations. The extended metaphor of Adonis as a horse serves to illustrate his transformation from a seemingly passive, unwilling subject of Venus's affection into an active, self-directed individual.

Initially, Adonis is depicted as a "Jade" – a stubborn, perhaps even contemptible, horse "tied to the tree" and "Servilely master'd with a leathern rein." This vividly portrays his previous resistance and disinterest in Venus's advances, perhaps from her perspective, as a state of being "held back" or forced into something he doesn't desire. This "bondage" represents the emotional or physical restraint he feels under Venus's overwhelming erotic pursuit.

However, the moment Adonis sees the object of his true desire – the wild boar, described as "his youth’s fair fee" – he undergoes a violent and immediate liberation. He views the previous constraints (Venus's attempts at love and control) as "petty bondage" and rejects them with disdain. His action of "Throwing the base thong from his bending crest" and "Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast" symbolizes a forceful assertion of his autonomy. He is literally and metaphorically freeing himself from Venus's "rein," shedding any perceived control she had over him.

The significance of this stanza lies in several key themes:

1. Assertion of Agency: Adonis is no longer merely an object of desire but becomes a subject with his own will. He chooses his path, defying Venus's attempts to guide or coerce him. This marks a turning point where his will asserts itself against Venus's, leading directly to the poem's tragic climax.
2. Clash of Desires: The stanza highlights the fundamental conflict between Venus's desire for love and procreation and Adonis's desire for the thrill of the hunt and unbridled youthful freedom. "His love" is the boar, not Venus, emphasizing his preference for a wild, dangerous pursuit over domesticated, sensual love.
3. Nature vs. Culture/Innocence vs. Experience: Adonis's choice to pursue the boar, a creature of the wild, over Venus's advances, represents a preference for the raw, untamed aspects of nature and his own innocent, uncorrupted youth. He rejects the "bondage" of adult desires and embraces a more primal, unfettered existence.
4. Dramatic Irony: This stanza sets up the tragic irony of the poem. Adonis proudly "enfranchises" himself from Venus's "bondage" of love, only to rush headlong towards the boar – the very "love" he chose to pursue – which ultimately leads to his demise. His liberation from one form of "bondage" leads him directly into another, more fatal one.

In essence, stanza 66 is Adonis's declaration of independence, showcasing his youthful will, his preference for the wild, and his utter rejection of Venus's amorous advances, setting the stage for the tragic events that follow.