In lines 865 through 894 of Venus and Adonis, William Shakespeare details the resistance Venus is met with, not just from the natural elements around her, but from within her rapid feelings towards Adonis. From the first line to the last, the structure of the passage moves as quickly as she does when looking for Adonis. Shakespeare forms her words in sync with her rapid heartbeat.
However, Shakespeare displays that this rapidness is not due to Venus’s passion and love for Adonis, but rather due to her fear and doubt in the relationship they share becoming stronger. Shakespeare contrasts the passion that Venus previously felt and was trying to push onto Adonis with the rushed fear that she feels when Adonis is nowhere to be found.
Shakespeare is not just emphasizing Venus’s rush with finding Adonis, but also emphasizing the one-sided love that is present in their relationship. There are more overpowering feelings of lust rather than feelings of love. For instance, with words like “hasteth”, “runs”, and “wildly”, Shakespeare emphasizes the rush that Venus feels. In lines 873-872, the bushes act as her obstacles, “Some catch her by the neck, some kiss her face,/Some twined about her thigh to make her stay./She wildly breaketh from their strict embrace”.
It’s interesting that Shakespeare would use bushes to try to stop Venus on her frantic path to finding Adonis. They’re prickly and harsh, which is similar to the truth that Venus is scared to face in her pursuit of Adonis’s love. His use of the word “milch” is interesting as well. Milch is most commonly used to describe an animal yielding of milk, but Shakespeare uses this word to describe Venus, so its meaning changes to a woman that is lactating or able to give milk (as stated in OED). Shakespeare repeatedly mentions Venus’s fertility throughout this piece, but in this passage, it is used to describe how she is just as hasty to feed her children as well.
Another word used is “adder”, which is a serpent biblically alluding to the manifestation of a devil (as stated in OED). Not only does Shakespeare reference a woman’s fertility, but now he has alluded to a serpent that is biblically associated with the devil. It seems that he might be comparing Venus to Eve through their actions, thoughts, and feelings; portraying women as reckless when driven.
It is also clear that a rash connection between Venus and nature is trying to be created. She notices Adonis’s hounds, a serpent, she says “fawn” instead of children, and she compares her chase to find Adonis to boars, bears, and lions. It’s certainly contradictory how Venus is able to notice so much in nature, but still, be blinded by the race of her heart and the love that she fears for Adonis. With so much fear and doubt, it can be put into question if she actually loves Adonis or if she lusts after him like she described his hounds to be doing.
Works Cited:
"milch, adj." OED Online, Oxford University Press, January 2018, https://www-oed-com.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/view/Entry/118356?rskey=Thf6jL&result=3&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 20 February 2022.
"cursed, v." OED Online, Oxford University Press, January 2018, https://www-oed-com.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/view/Entry/2166?rskey=Dxl7z9&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid. Accessed 19 February 2022.
Shakespeare, William. Venus and Adonis. Folger Digital Texts. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine with Michael Poston and Rebecca Niles. Folger Shakespeare Library. Created on Apr 23, 2016, from FDT version 0.9.0.1. http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/?chapter=5&play=Ven. Accessed Feb 17, 2022.