Venus, Adonis, and the Horses

Abstract

The episode of the Courser and the Jennet in Venus and Adonis has received considerable attention as a noteworthy example of the youthful Shakespeare's mastery of descriptive realism, but the few attempts to relate the part thematically to the whole have been unspecific in their application, leaving the poem open to the criticism of lacking organic unity.' A critical approach which takes commonplace Renaissance symbols and moral ideas into consideration may offer possibilities for a better understanding of this passage both in its own right and in its relation to the main narrative. If so, a fresh approach to the poem as a whole may be indicated. For if the horses and associated details are considered symbolically, we may view the episode as expressing-through a fairly complex analysis of romantic love-a 'moral dimension' in the poem: the concept of love thus presented being reinforced and heightened by the poet's stylistic treatment of his material. The following study points to a degree of conscious artistry and control of his medium earlier in the career of Shakespeare than is generally assumed. Further, it shows that his seemingly digressive treatment of the horses may be said to form an integral part of the total conception of the poem. Finally, it suggests a mature attitude toward romantic courtship on the part of the early Shakespeare.