🌹 Stanza 94 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

Hot, faint, and weary, with her hard embracing,
Like a wild bird being tam’d with too much handling,
Or as the fleet-foot roe that’s tir’d with chasing, 
Or like the froward infant still’d with dandling,
He now obeys, and now no more resisteth,
While she takes all she can, not all she listeth.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: Hot, faint, and weary, with her hard embracing,

"Hot, faint, and weary": These adjectives describe Adonis's physical state. "Hot" suggests a feverishness or flush from exertion and distress; "faint" indicates lightheadedness or weakness; and "weary" denotes extreme tiredness. These are direct results of Venus's intense physical attention.
"her hard embracing": Refers to Venus's forceful, persistent, and unyielding physical contact, including holding, kissing, and pressing against Adonis. "Hard" emphasizes the lack of gentleness and the strenuous, almost violent, nature of the encounter from Adonis's perspective, highlighting its toll on him.
Meaning: Adonis is overheated, weak, and utterly exhausted due to Venus's forceful and relentless physical embraces.

Line 2: Like a wild bird being tam’d with too much handling,

"Like a wild bird": This simile compares Adonis to an untamed, free creature. It emphasizes his initial resistance, independence, and natural desire to escape Venus's grasp.
"being tam’d": Implies a process of breaking a creature's spirit or will, forcing it into submission or obedience. This suggests Venus's actions are not gentle persuasion but a forceful subjugation.
"with too much handling": Refers to continuous, overwhelming, and potentially rough physical contact that wears down the bird (Adonis). "Handling" here is not affectionate petting but rather an exhausting and relentless imposition of control.
Meaning: Adonis's spirit and resistance are worn down, much like a naturally wild bird becomes subdued and loses its vitality after being excessively and roughly handled.

Line 3: Or as the fleet-foot roe that’s tir’d with chasing,

"Or as the fleet-foot roe": Another simile, comparing Adonis to a swift and nimble young deer. "Fleet-foot" highlights Adonis's initial agility and his attempts to escape Venus, symbolizing his innocent evasion. A "roe" often symbolizes grace, speed, and sometimes innocence.
"that’s tir’d with chasing": Describes the exhaustion of a deer that has been relentlessly pursued. In this context, Adonis is the one being "chased" by Venus, and her unceasing pursuit has drained him completely of energy.
Meaning: Alternatively, Adonis is exhausted and resigned, similar to a swift deer that has been pursued to the point of complete physical and mental fatigue.

Line 4: Or like the froward infant still’d with dandling,

"Or like the froward infant": A third simile, this time likening Adonis to a disobedient, unruly, or stubbornly contrary child. "Froward" means perverse, difficult to manage, or obstinate. This highlights Adonis's initial petulant rejection of Venus.
"still’d": Made quiet, calmed, or subdued. It implies a cessation of crying, struggling, or defiance.
"with dandling": Refers to the act of rocking or bouncing a child, often playfully, to soothe or quiet it. In this context, it suggests that Venus's persistent, almost smothering, attention has physically and emotionally worn down Adonis's youthful resistance until he is quiet and passive.
Meaning: Or, like a stubbornly defiant child who has been quieted and subdued through persistent and overwhelming rocking or handling.

Line 5: He now obeys, and now no more resisteth,

"He now obeys": This directly states Adonis's submission. It is the culmination of the physical and emotional exhaustion described in the preceding lines and similes. His obedience is passive, born of weariness, not willingness.
"and now no more resisteth": Reinforces the complete cessation of his struggle. "Resisteth" is an archaic form of "resists." This signifies that Adonis has simply given up the fight against Venus's advances.
Meaning: As a direct consequence of this overwhelming experience, Adonis now complies with her will and completely ceases all forms of resistance.

Line 6: While she takes all she can, not all she listeth.

"While she takes all she can": This indicates that Venus is exploiting Adonis's subdued state to the maximum possible extent. This includes kisses, embraces, and close physical proximity, short of actual sexual intercourse. It implies a limit to what she can extract from his passive body, not a limit to her desire.
"not all she listeth": "Listeth" is an archaic verb meaning "wishes" or "desires." This crucial phrase reveals that despite Adonis's passive surrender, Venus has not achieved her ultimate goal of full sexual consummation. She gets some satisfaction, but not the complete fulfillment of her lust.
Meaning: Meanwhile, Venus takes full advantage of his submission, obtaining as much physical gratification as possible, though she still fails to achieve everything she truly desires.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Simile	"Like a wild bird being tam’d with too much handling," (Line 2)	Compares Adonis to a wild creature subdued by force, emphasizing his loss of freedom and the exhaustive nature of Venus's pursuit. It highlights his initial untamed nature versus his current forced submission.
Simile	"Or as the fleet-foot roe that’s tir’d with chasing," (Line 3)	Continues the animalistic comparison, emphasizing Adonis's initial swiftness and attempts at evasion, now brought to an end by sheer exhaustion. It evokes sympathy for Adonis as the hunted prey.
Simile	"Or like the froward infant still’d with dandling," (Line 4)	Shifts to a human comparison, depicting Adonis as petulant and resistant, now pacified by overwhelming, almost parental, attention. It underscores the non-consensual nature of his submission; he is a child who cannot escape, not a consenting partner.
Alliteration	"Hot, faint, and weary," (Line 1)	The repetition of the 'h', 'f', and 'w' sounds creates a sense of breathlessness and exhaustion, mirroring Adonis's physical state.
Alliteration	"fleet-foot" (Line 3)	The repetition of the 'f' sound emphasizes the speed and agility of the roe, contrasting with its current state of exhaustion.
Anaphora	"Or as..." (Line 3), "Or like..." (Line 4)	The repeated opening phrase at the start of consecutive lines creates a rhetorical emphasis on the series of comparisons, building a cumulative sense of Adonis's weariness and the various ways his resistance has been broken.
Juxtaposition	"wild bird" / "tam'd", "fleet-foot roe" / "tir'd", "froward infant" / "still'd"	Creates a strong contrast between Adonis's initial spirited resistance and his eventual, enforced passivity. This highlights the dramatic shift in power and his loss of autonomy.
Foreshadowing	"takes all she can, not all she listeth." (Line 6)	This phrase subtly foreshadows Venus's continued frustration and the ultimate failure of her desire to fully possess Adonis, indicating that even in his surrender, he remains beyond her ultimate grasp. It hints at the ongoing imbalance of their relationship.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

Stanza 94 marks a pivotal moment in Venus and Adonis, depicting the complete physical and emotional subjugation of Adonis by Venus's unrelenting passion. The stanza functions as a vivid illustration of the consequences of unrequited and aggressive desire. Through a sequence of powerful similes – comparing Adonis to a wild bird worn down by handling, a swift roe exhausted by pursuit, and a defiant infant quieted by persistent rocking – Shakespeare emphasizes that Adonis's submission is born purely out of overwhelming fatigue and a complete lack of energy to resist, rather than any reciprocal affection or desire.

This stanza is significant because it highlights the predatory aspect of Venus's love. Her "hard embracing" signifies a lack of gentle persuasion, bordering on physical coercion. Adonis is presented as the passive victim, worn out and robbed of his agency. This reinforces the poem's broader theme of the destructive and suffocating nature of unchecked passion, particularly when it is one-sided and disregards the other party's will. Adonis's forced obedience underscores the poem's exploration of consent and its absence, even if the scene stops short of full sexual violence.

The final line, "While she takes all she can, not all she listeth," is crucial. It reveals that despite Adonis's utter exhaustion and surrender, Venus's ultimate goal (sexual union) remains unfulfilled. His passivity is a negative state – the cessation of resistance – and not an active expression of desire. This maintains the central tension and conflict of the poem: Venus's fervent yet frustrated lust against Adonis's steadfast, chaste rejection of love. This moment of passive surrender sets the stage for the next phase of the narrative, where Venus continues to pursue her elusive goal, and Adonis, now physically incapacitated, can only desire escape and the solace of the hunt. The stanza thus underscores the theme of the inherent imbalance in their relationship and the enduring power of chastity against overwhelming desire.