🌹 Stanza 91 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Till, breathless, he disjoin’d, and backward drew
The heavenly moisture, that sweet coral mouth,
Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew,
Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drouth:       
He with her plenty press’d, she faint with dearth,
Their lips together glu’d, fall to the earth.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "Till, breathless, he disjoin’d, and backward drew"

"Till, breathless": Indicates the prolonged and intense nature of the kiss, causing Adonis to lose his breath from exertion or passion. It emphasizes the physical toll of the embrace.
"he disjoin’d": "Disjoin'd" means to separate or pull apart. It signifies Adonis's act of breaking away from the kiss, suggesting he is the one initiating the separation, likely due to being overwhelmed. Shakespeare chooses this word to highlight a deliberate, if perhaps reluctant, act of withdrawal.
"and backward drew": Reinforces the action of separation, emphasizing his physical movement away from Venus. This phrase underscores his passive resistance to Venus's advances.
Meaning: Until, breathless from the intensity of the kiss, Adonis pulled himself away and drew back.

Line 2: "The heavenly moisture, that sweet coral mouth,"

"The heavenly moisture": This is a metaphorical and highly elevated description of the saliva or essence exchanged during the kiss. "Heavenly" imbues it with divine or supreme quality, reflecting Venus's goddess status and the intoxicating effect of her presence. Shakespeare uses "moisture" rather than a more direct term to maintain a poetic and sensual, rather than crude, image.
"that sweet coral mouth": "Coral" refers to the reddish-pink color of Venus's lips, resembling precious coral. It's a vivid color image suggesting beauty and desirability. "Sweet" describes the pleasant taste and overall alluring quality of her mouth. This is a synecdoche, using "mouth" to represent Venus herself.
Meaning: (He pulled back from) the divine essence of that sweet, red-lipped mouth (Venus's mouth).

Line 3: "Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew,"

"Whose precious taste": Refers to the highly valued and desirable sensation of kissing Venus's mouth. "Precious" implies its immense worth and the pleasure it brings.
"her thirsty lips": Personifies Venus's lips, giving them human-like desire and longing. "Thirsty" emphasizes her insatiable craving and intense need for the kiss, suggesting an unquenchable desire, much like physical thirst.
"well knew": Implies a deep familiarity and a profound memory of this desired taste, suggesting this longing is a continuous state for Venus.
Meaning: A taste that her longing, craving lips were very familiar with and deeply desired.

Line 4: "Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drouth:"

"Whereon they surfeit": "Surfeit" means to have an excessive amount of something, to be overfilled or satiated to the point of nausea or discomfort. Here, it means Venus's lips have consumed an overwhelming amount of the kiss or its "moisture." It implies a state of being completely inundated.
"yet complain on drouth": "Drouth" is an archaic spelling of "drought," meaning a severe lack or scarcity. This creates a powerful paradox: her lips are overfilled (surfeit), yet they still feel a profound lack (drought) and complain about it. This highlights Venus's insatiable, never-ending desire; no matter how much she receives, it is never enough. Shakespeare uses this paradox to underscore the obsessive and consuming nature of her passion.
Meaning: On which her lips are excessively filled, yet they still moan about a lack or dryness.

Line 5: "He with her plenty press’d, she faint with dearth,"

"He with her plenty press’d": "Her plenty" refers to the abundance of Venus's physical presence, her kisses, her embraces, and her overwhelming desire. "Press'd" means burdened, weighed down, or overwhelmed by this abundance. Adonis is depicted as being smothered or suffocated by Venus's ardent advances, highlighting his passive and unwilling role.
"she faint with dearth": "Dearth" means scarcity or lack. Despite showering Adonis with her "plenty," Venus herself feels a "dearth" – a lack of reciprocal affection, a lack of satisfaction for her boundless desire, or a lack of the continued kiss. "Faint" suggests weakness, exhaustion, or a state of near collapse, stemming from the intensity of her unfulfilled longing. This continues the paradox from the previous line.
Meaning: He was overwhelmed and burdened by her excessive passion, while she was weakened by the lack (of her desire being fully met or reciprocated).

Line 6: "Their lips together glu’d, fall to the earth."

"Their lips together glu’d": This hyperbole suggests an intense and passionate connection, almost as if their lips were physically fused together during the kiss. It conveys the difficulty of separation and the lingering intimacy of the moment, even as Adonis tries to withdraw. It could also imply an immediate re-engagement of their kiss as they fall.
"fall to the earth": This indicates a collapse or a succumbing to the overwhelming force of their embrace and exhaustion. It signifies a loss of control, an involuntary descent brought about by the extreme passion and physical strain of the encounter, likely driven by Venus's persistent pull.
Meaning: With their lips still seemingly stuck together, they both collapsed to the ground.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Paradox/Oxymoron	"Whereon they surfeit, yet complain on drouth"	Highlights the insatiable, self-contradictory nature of Venus's desire. She has too much, yet still feels a desperate lack, emphasizing the unquenchable quality of her passion and her inability to be satisfied.
Metaphor	"The heavenly moisture"	Elevates the kiss/saliva to a divine, almost intoxicating essence, reflecting Venus's goddess status and the powerful effect she has.
Personification	"her thirsty lips well knew," "lips... complain on drouth"	Gives human characteristics and desires to Venus's lips, emphasizing the intensity and sentience of her longing, making her desire palpable and almost independent of her will.
Hyperbole	"Their lips together glu’d"	Exaggerates the closeness and intensity of the kiss, suggesting an almost unbreakable bond or immediate re-engagement, conveying the difficulty of separation and the overwhelming nature of their physical connection.
Imagery	"breathless," "sweet coral mouth," "thirsty lips," "faint with dearth"	Creates vivid sensory experiences for the reader, allowing them to visualize the scene and feel the physical and emotional states of the characters, enhancing the sensuality and dramatic tension of the encounter.
Contrast	"He with her plenty press’d, she faint with dearth"	Starkly illustrates the differing experiences of Venus and Adonis. Adonis is overwhelmed by Venus's abundance, while Venus feels a lack despite her own intensity, underscoring the imbalance of their desire and the unrequited nature of the love.
Alliteration	"drew... drouth," "plenty press'd"	Creates a subtle musicality and rhythm in the lines, making them more memorable and pleasant to read, while subtly linking the concepts or actions described.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza vividly portrays the culmination and immediate aftermath of an intensely passionate kiss between Venus and Adonis, emphasizing the stark contrast in their experiences. It encapsulates Venus's consuming, insatiable desire versus Adonis's overwhelmed reluctance.

The "heavenly moisture" and "sweet coral mouth" highlight the intoxicating, almost divine allure of Venus, yet this divine essence becomes a burden for Adonis, who is "breathless" and "backward drew." The central paradox of Venus's "thirsty lips" that "surfeit, yet complain on drouth" is profoundly significant. It showcases her boundless, almost vampiric passion: no matter how much she receives, her longing remains unquenched. This reflects a key theme of the poem: the destructive and obsessive nature of uncontrolled desire, particularly Venus's sexual appetite.

Adonis's state, "with her plenty press’d," underscores his passivity and the suffocating nature of Venus's advances. He is not a willing participant but rather a victim of her overwhelming affection. Conversely, Venus, despite being the aggressor, is "faint with dearth," indicating her unfulfilled desire and the psychological exhaustion stemming from her unreciprocated love.

Their collapse to the earth, "Their lips together glu’d," signifies the sheer physical and emotional toll of the encounter, driven by Venus's relentless pursuit. This moment marks a deeper entanglement, literally bringing them to the ground, suggesting a loss of control and a succumbing to the raw force of passion.

In the broader context of Venus and Adonis, this stanza reinforces the poem's exploration of themes such as: * Unrequited Love: Venus's insatiable desire against Adonis's resistance is a central dynamic. * The Power of Desire: It showcases the overwhelming and potentially destructive force of unbridled passion. * Gender Roles and Power Dynamics: Venus is depicted as the aggressive, dominant pursuer, reversing traditional gender roles, while Adonis is the reluctant, almost victimized object of desire. * Lust vs. Love: Venus's desire is presented as purely physical and consuming, contrasting with a more idealized or chaste love, which Adonis seems to represent or seek.

This stanza is a pivotal moment, depicting the climax of their physical interaction while simultaneously foreshadowing the tragic outcome, as Venus's persistent, overwhelming desire eventually leads to Adonis's weariness and ultimately his demise.