🌹 Stanza 85 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

‘Long may they kiss each other for this cure!
O! never let their crimson liveries wear;
And as they last, their verdure still endure,
To drive infection from the dangerous year:
That the star-gazers, having writ on death,
May say, the plague is banish’d by thy breath.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: ‘Long may they kiss each other for this cure!

"they": Refers to Venus's lips and Adonis's lips, which have just come into contact through a kiss.
"this cure": The kiss is presented as a remedy or healing agent. Venus (or the narrator speaking on her behalf) attributes to the physical act of kissing the power to heal or protect against future ailments, a hyperbolic expression of love's perceived power.
Meaning: "May their lips continue to kiss each other for a long time, as this act is a profound remedy!"

Line 2: O! never let their crimson liveries wear;

"crimson liveries": A metaphor for the deep red color of their lips. "Crimson" evokes richness and vitality, while "liveries" (uniforms or identifying colors) suggests that this vibrant hue is their characteristic mark, symbolizing health and passion.
"wear": To fade, diminish, or decay over time. Venus wishes for the color and vitality of their lips to remain perpetually, unaffected by age or time.
Meaning: "Oh, may the vibrant crimson color of their lips never fade or diminish!"

Line 3: And as they last, their verdure still endure,

"as they last": As long as their lips remain, or as long as the effect and vitality of the kiss persist.
"their verdure": "Verdure" typically refers to green foliage, symbolizing freshness, growth, and flourishing life. Here, it is used metaphorically to describe the enduring freshness, health, and vitality of the lips, contrasting with decay or senescence.
"endure": To continue to exist, to last, to remain in good condition. It reinforces the wish for permanence expressed in the previous line.
Meaning: "And as long as their lips exist, may their fresh, vital appearance also perpetually last."

Line 4: To drive infection from the dangerous year:

"drive infection": To expel, ward off, or prevent disease. This elevates the kiss to a protective, almost magical act that can prevent illness.
"dangerous year": Refers to a year that is prone to outbreaks of disease, particularly the plague, which was a constant and terrifying threat in Shakespeare's time. The kiss is presented as an antidote to such dangers.
Meaning: "So that this powerful kiss can repel sickness and disease from any year that threatens with illness."

Line 5: That the star-gazers, having writ on death,

"star-gazers": Refers to astrologers or astronomers of the time, who were believed to predict future events, including calamities and the fate of individuals, by observing celestial bodies. They often consulted their charts to foresee periods of illness or mortality.
"having writ on death": Having made predictions, written treatises, or cast horoscopes concerning mortality, doom, or specifically the onset and effects of widespread disease like the plague. This positions them as authorities on impending doom.
Meaning: "So that even the astrologers, who have written extensively about death and impending doom,"

Line 6: May say, the plague is banish’d by thy breath.

"the plague": A direct reference to the bubonic plague, a devastating and common epidemic in Elizabethan England.
"banish'd by thy breath": Expelled, driven away, or utterly defeated by the power emanating from Adonis's breath, specifically his kiss. This is a profound hyperbole, attributing a divine, curative power to the kiss, making it superior to any natural disaster. "Thy" refers to Adonis, the object of Venus's desire.
Meaning: "May be forced to declare that the deadly plague has been utterly driven away by the power of your (Adonis's) breath, through the kiss."

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Hyperbole	"drive infection from the dangerous year" / "the plague is banish’d by thy breath"	Exaggerates the power of the kiss, suggesting it has miraculous, life-saving abilities far beyond reality. This emphasizes the intensity of Venus's passion and her desperate wish for Adonis's eternal presence and power.
Metaphor	"crimson liveries" (for lips)	Vividly describes the lips' vibrant color, associating them with the rich uniforms of servants or officials, implying a regal or significant appearance. It emphasizes their healthy, passionate hue.
Metaphor	"their verdure" (for vitality of lips)	Applies a term for flourishing plant life to human lips, symbolizing their freshness, health, and enduring vitality, contrasting with decay and reinforcing the wish for permanence.
Allusion	"dangerous year" / "the plague" / "star-gazers, having writ on death"	Refers to the very real and terrifying threat of the bubonic plague in Shakespeare's era, and the common practice of astrology. This grounds the fantastical hyperbole in contemporary fears, making the kiss's supposed power even more remarkable and desirable.
Personification	"dangerous year"	Attributes an active, threatening quality to the year itself, making it seem like an entity that can inflict harm, against which the kiss is a powerful defense.
Apostrophe	Implicit address to the lips/kiss	Though not directly addressing an absent entity, the fervent wishes ("Long may they...", "O! never let...") create an effect of direct, passionate appeal, as if imploring fate or the act itself to sustain its power.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza encapsulates Venus's overwhelming and all-consuming passion for Adonis. It expresses a fervent wish that the kiss they have just shared possesses not only enduring physical vitality but also extraordinary, almost supernatural, protective powers. Venus's desire for Adonis is so intense that she hyperbolically imagines their kiss as a cosmic force capable of warding off the most feared calamity of her time: the plague.

Significance in the context of the poem:

Exaggeration of Love's Power: The stanza elevates love and physical intimacy (the kiss) to an almost divine, curative force. This reflects the intense, almost irrational nature of Venus's desire for Adonis, portraying her love as boundless and capable of defying even death and disease. It's a testament to the intoxicating, all-encompassing nature of her passion.
Foreshadowing of Mortality vs. Immortality: This desperate plea for permanence and protection from death ("dangerous year," "writ on death," "the plague") subtly foreshadows the core conflict of the poem: Venus, an immortal goddess, tries to impose her will and desire for enduring pleasure on mortal Adonis, who is ultimately subject to death. The exaggerated wish for the kiss to banish the plague underscores Venus's longing for Adonis's continued existence and vitality, making his eventual tragic death all the more poignant.
Contrast of Passion and Reality: The fantastical idea of a kiss curing the plague contrasts sharply with the stark realities of life and death, particularly in Elizabethan England where plagues were devastating. This highlights the poem's blend of idealized, passionate romance with the harsh realities of mortality and the unyielding nature of fate. Venus's wish reveals her deep-seated fear of loss and her desire to preserve Adonis's beauty and her own pleasure at all costs.
Venus's Idealization of Adonis: By attributing such power to the kiss (and implicitly to Adonis, through "thy breath"), Venus idealizes Adonis, viewing him not just as a beautiful youth but as a source of life and an antidote to the world's ills. This stanza solidifies Venus's perception of Adonis as her ultimate desire and source of joy, whose loss would be catastrophic.