1. Explain the pun in lines 827 and 828, when after Adonis leaves, the speaker says of Venus, "Even so confounded in the dark she lay,/ Having lost the fair discovery of her way."

2. What happens to Adonis's body at the end of the poem, and how does Venus respond?

3. After Adonis's death, what does Venus predict about love?

4. What is conveyed by the personification and the simile in the passage where Venus runs through the brush toward the sounds of Adonis's hunting party?

5. What is the meaning of Venus's comments about veils and bonnets after Adonis's death?

6. Why does Venus say that nature should be convicted of treason, and what is Cynthia's plan to thwart what nature has done?

7. How does Venus's attitude toward death change when she believes that Adonis is alive?

8. What criticism does the speaker make of lovers' stories?

9. How does Venus portray Adonis having sex as a kind of selfless action and his choosing chastity as selfishness?

10. How does Adonis contrast love and lust?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

You have already considered how eroticism and humor make Venus and Adonis relatable to a wide audience. There is a more subtle element of this poem that also increases its relatability: anachronisms. What was the Elizabethan attitude toward historical accuracy in poetry and plays? Which was considered more important--accuracy or relatability? Write an essay in which you identify the anachronisms in this poem and then use historical and literary evidence to demonstrate that, far from being distractions, these elements of the poem would have actually increased its commercial appeal to an Elizabethan audience. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the poem, making sure to cite any quoted language and outside sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Shakespeare, like many Elizabethans, was very interested in the issue of the "natural" versus the "unnatural." How does his use of hunting symbolism in Venus and Adonis explore this issue? Is hunting presented as a natural or unnatural activity? For whom? How do his treatment of Artemis and his use of the stallion as a foil for Adonis support his perspective on who should engage in hunting? Why does Shakespeare omit the role of Cupid in Venus's desire for Adonis? Where are Cupid and his arrows actually mentioned in the poem, and how does Cupid's role as "hunter" figure into the poem's meaning? What does Adonis's manner of death communicate about hunting? Write an essay in which you analyze the messages about natural and unnatural behavior conveyed by the poem's hunting symbolism. Support your analysis with evidence from the poem, citing any quoted material in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Does the portrait of Venus in Venus and Adonis tend more to support or undercut traditional Elizabethan gender norms? Write an essay in which you consider both the characterization of Venus and the outcomes of her choices as you make an argument about what this poem is saying about the proper behavior of women. Support your argument with evidence drawn from the poem's language and plot details, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format. If you choose to support your argument with information drawn from outside sources, be sure to cite these in MLA format as well.

(see the answer keys)

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