🌹 Stanza 97 - Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis

📖 Original Stanza

For pity now she can no more detain him;    
The poor fool prays her that he may depart:
She is resolv’d no longer to restrain him,
Bids him farewell, and look well to her heart,      
The which, by Cupid’s bow she doth protest,
He carries thence incaged in his breast.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line 1: "For pity now she can no more detain him;"

"For pity": Due to compassion or a feeling of sympathy for Adonis's distress. This indicates that Venus's previous persistence was not entirely heartless, and she eventually acknowledges his suffering.
"can no more detain him": Is no longer able to hold him back or prevent him from leaving. This suggests that her previous attempts at physical restraint or persuasion have exhausted her capacity or desire to continue, yielding to his desperate state.
Meaning: Out of compassion, Venus is now unable to continue holding Adonis back.

Line 2: "The poor fool prays her that he may depart:"

"The poor fool": Refers to Adonis. "Fool" here is used endearingly or with pity, highlighting his youth, naivety, and helplessness in the face of Venus's overwhelming advances, rather than implying stupidity. It underscores his vulnerable position.
"prays her": Begs or earnestly requests her. This emphasizes Adonis's desperation and his sincere desire to escape the situation.
"that he may depart": That he be allowed to leave.
Meaning: The innocent Adonis desperately pleads with her to let him go.

Line 3: "She is resolv’d no longer to restrain him,"

"resolv'd": Decided or determined. This marks a turning point, showing Venus's conscious decision to cease her forceful actions after his pleas.
"no longer to restrain him": To stop holding him back or exerting control over his movements. This mirrors "detain him" from the first line, reinforcing the idea that she had been holding him against his will.
Meaning: She has now decided that she will no longer hold him back by force.

Line 4: "Bids him farewell, and look well to her heart,"

"Bids him farewell": Says goodbye to him. This signifies a formal parting after the intense struggle and her subsequent decision to release him.
"look well to her heart": Take good care of her heart. This is a metaphorical statement. Venus is not literally giving him her physical heart, but rather her love, her emotions, and her very essence. She implies that her emotional well-being is now entrusted to him, making him responsible for it.
Meaning: She says goodbye to him and tells him to take very good care of her heart.

Line 5: "The which, by Cupid’s bow she doth protest,"

"The which": Refers back to "her heart" from the previous line.
"by Cupid’s bow": An oath or solemn vow made by invoking Cupid, the Roman god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection, whose bow is the instrument of love's power. Swearing by Cupid's bow elevates her declaration to a divine and serious level, emphasizing the truth and depth of her claim.
"she doth protest": She solemnly declares or affirms with conviction. In this context, "protest" means to affirm or avow, not to object.
Meaning: Which heart, she solemnly declares, swearing by Cupid's bow,

Line 6: "He carries thence incaged in his breast."

"thence": From that place; from her presence or her control.
"incaged": Enclosed or imprisoned as if in a cage. This is a powerful metaphor for Venus's heart (her love and essence) being confined within Adonis. It suggests possession, capture, and perhaps a burden for Adonis, highlighting the inescapable nature of her love.
"in his breast": Within his chest, symbolizing his core being, his innermost self, or his very soul. This reinforces the idea that her love has deeply penetrated and taken hold of him, regardless of his conscious will.
Meaning: He is carrying away, confined within his own chest.

🎭 Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Metaphor	"her heart, incaged in his breast"	This vivid image likens Venus's emotional essence and love to a captive bird or animal held within Adonis's body. It powerfully conveys Venus's sense of vulnerability and deep emotional investment in him, suggesting her love is now his prisoner or responsibility. It also subtly hints at the burden or confinement Adonis unknowingly takes on.
Allusion	"by Cupid's bow"	By swearing upon Cupid's bow, Venus invokes the divine authority of the god of love. This elevates her declaration to a sacred vow, emphasizing the truth, sincerity, and powerful, almost fated, nature of her love. It firmly places the poem within its mythological context.
Pathos	"The poor fool prays her"	The phrase "poor fool" elicits sympathy for Adonis, highlighting his youth, innocence, and vulnerability in the face of Venus's overwhelming passion. This emotional appeal enhances the dramatic tension by contrasting his distress with her ardent pursuit.
Personification	"look well to her heart"	While Venus's heart is not literally given, the instruction to "look well to her heart" treats her love and emotional being as if it were a tangible object that can be cared for or neglected. This emphasizes the depth of her emotional attachment and her desire for Adonis to cherish what she has given him.
Irony	Venus physically frees Adonis but claims to have emotionally bound him.	There's a subtle irony in Venus releasing Adonis physically only to declare that he now carries her heart, effectively binding him emotionally. This highlights the futility of her efforts, as Adonis does not reciprocate her feelings, setting up the tragic element of unrequited love and Venus's inevitable heartbreak, despite her possessive claim.
Contrast	"detain him" / "restrain him" vs. "Bids him farewell"	The stanza shifts from Venus's active, forceful attempts to "detain" and "restrain" Adonis to her passive act of bidding him "farewell." This contrast underscores her internal conflict and her decision to change tactics from physical coercion to emotional appeal, even as her underlying desire remains.

🎯 Overall Meaning & Significance in the Context of the Poem

This stanza marks a crucial turning point in Venus and Adonis. Having exhausted her physical and persuasive efforts to win Adonis's affection, Venus finally yields to his desperate pleas, moved by pity. However, her release of Adonis is not a surrender of her desire but a strategic shift from physical force to emotional manipulation. By dramatically declaring that he carries her heart "incaged in his breast" and swearing by Cupid's bow, Venus attempts to bind Adonis to her emotionally, even as she frees him physically.

This moment highlights Venus's relentless and possessive nature of love, which seeks to claim and control its object. It foreshadows the central tragedy of the poem: the unrequited nature of Venus's passion. Adonis, still immature and focused on the hunt, is oblivious to the profound emotional burden Venus places upon him. Her heart, "incaged" within him, signifies her complete emotional investment and vulnerability, but also implies a subtle curse or an unavoidable responsibility on Adonis's part.

The stanza reinforces several key themes of the poem: the destructive power of obsessive love, the clash between passionate desire and youthful innocence/indifference, and the tension between physical restraint and emotional entrapment. Venus's act, while appearing to be merciful, is ultimately another attempt to exert control, this time over Adonis's very being. This sets the stage for the poem's tragic resolution, where Venus's love, so deeply invested and now metaphorically imprisoned, will lead to her profound grief when Adonis meets his inevitable fate.