🌹 Stanza 90 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

‘Now let me say good night, and so say you;
If you will say so, you shall have a kiss.’
‘Good night,’ quoth she; and ere he says adieu,
The honey fee of parting tender’d is:
Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace;
Incorporate then they seem, face grows to face.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: ‘Now let me say good night, and so say you;’

"Now let me say good night": This is Adonis's plea, indicating his desire to end the conversation and depart. It shows his preference for disengagement.
"and so say you": Adonis wishes for Venus to reciprocate his desire to end the encounter, implying a request for mutual agreement to conclude their interaction.
Meaning: Adonis expresses his wish to say good night and asks Venus to do the same, signaling his desire to end their meeting.

Line 2: If you will say so, you shall have a kiss.’

"If you will say so": This is Venus's condition, a quick and clever response that seizes on Adonis's words. She presents a "bargain" where his compliance will lead to her desired outcome.
"you shall have a kiss": This is the incentive or "bribe" offered by Venus. It reveals her proactive and somewhat manipulative strategy to achieve physical intimacy, turning his request to leave into an opportunity for closeness.
Meaning: Venus promises Adonis a kiss if he agrees to say good night.

Line 3: ‘Good night,’ quoth she; and ere he says adieu,

"‘Good night,’ quoth she": "Quoth" is an archaic word meaning "said." Venus immediately complies with Adonis's request, demonstrating her quick wit and eagerness to fulfill her part of the "bargain" to get the kiss.
"and ere he says adieu": "Ere" means "before." This phrase emphasizes the swiftness and almost pre-emptive nature of Venus's action. She acts so quickly that Adonis doesn't even have a chance to fully articulate his farewell, effectively preventing him from disengaging.
Meaning: Venus promptly says "Good night," and before Adonis can even utter his farewell,

Line 4: The honey fee of parting tender’d is:

"The honey fee": This is a metaphor for the kiss. "Honey" suggests sweetness, pleasure, and perhaps a captivating or irresistible quality. "Fee" implies payment or reward, connecting back to Venus's "you shall have a kiss" and emphasizing the kiss as a "price" or "reward" for their parting.
"of parting": The kiss is given at the moment they are separating, making it the "payment" for the act of saying good night and leaving.
"tender’d is": "Tendered" means offered or presented. The use of the passive voice ("is tender'd") subtly focuses on the act of the kiss being given, rather than explicitly stating that Venus gives it, though her agency is clearly implied from the previous lines.
Meaning: The sweet, delightful kiss, given as the payment for their goodbye, is presented.

Line 5: Her arms do lend his neck a sweet embrace;

"Her arms do lend his neck": "Do lend" emphasizes Venus's active initiation of the physical contact. Her arms are presented as agents, reaching out and drawing him close.
"a sweet embrace": This describes the physical action of the kiss, highlighting its sensual and pleasurable quality from Venus's perspective. It reinforces the theme of sweetness associated with the "honey fee."
Meaning: Her arms wrap around his neck in a delightful embrace.

Line 6: Incorporate then they seem, face grows to face.

"Incorporate then they seem": "Incorporate" means to form into one body, to unite or blend. This vivid imagery suggests an intense physical closeness where their separate forms appear to merge. "They seem" indicates the visual impression of this intimate union.
"face grows to face": This describes the culmination of the embrace, specifically the act of kissing, where their faces come into such close proximity that they appear to meld together. "Grows" suggests an organic, almost inevitable progression of closeness and intimacy.
Meaning: At that moment, they appear to become a single body, their faces coming together in a deep embrace.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Metaphor	"The honey fee of parting"	Compares the kiss to a sweet payment or bribe, emphasizing its desirability and Venus's strategic use of it. It highlights the sweetness and potentially sticky (entrapment) nature of her affection.
Enjambment	"...adieu, / The honey fee..."	Creates a sense of immediacy and continuous action, reflecting Venus's swift and uninterrupted pursuit of Adonis, preventing his escape.
Imagery	"honey fee," "sweet embrace," "face grows to face"	Appeals to the senses (taste, touch, sight), creating a vivid and sensual depiction of the kiss, emphasizing its passionate and intimate nature.
Alliteration	"face grows to face"	The repetition of the 'f' sound creates a soft, almost whispering effect, enhancing the intimacy and quiet intensity of the moment of physical closeness.
Synecdoche/Personification	"Her arms do lend his neck"	Focuses on Venus's arms as active agents, emphasizing her physical initiative and the assertive nature of her embrace, rather than merely stating "she embraced him."
Inversion	"tender’d is"	Places the verb before the subject, which is an archaic construction. It subtly emphasizes the action of the kiss being given, almost as if it's an undeniable event.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza marks a pivotal moment in Venus's relentless pursuit of Adonis, depicting their first kiss. It brilliantly showcases Venus's determined and somewhat manipulative nature: she swiftly turns Adonis's desire to part into an opportunity for physical intimacy, using the promise of a kiss as a "bribe." The language is intensely sensual, with the "honey fee" metaphor and the imagery of "face grows to face" emphasizing the profound physical closeness and passionate merging that Venus desires.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this stanza is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it visually concretizes the central conflict: Venus's all-consuming, physical desire versus Adonis's youthful inexperience and aversion to such overwhelming affection. Here, Venus's will overrides Adonis's initial resistance, establishing her as the aggressive pursuer. Secondly, the kiss, intended by Venus as a bond of love, serves to highlight Adonis's continued discomfort and the growing imbalance in their relationship. It foreshadows his subsequent rejections of her advances, as he views it as an unwanted imposition rather than a romantic gesture. Finally, the stanza exemplifies Shakespeare's masterful use of language to convey both the beauty and the coercive undertones of Venus's love, setting the stage for the escalating dramatic tension and tragic outcome of their mismatched affections.