Yonce All On His Mouth Like...

Let's talk about sex. Or Beyonce. Same thing.

There are a lot of things that make Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis great, but one of the best parts of the poem is Venus's nearly pornographic blazon of herself. The blazon is a conceit typically found in Petrarchan poetry in which the poet, a man wooing a beautiful woman, lavishes praise upon the object of desire, singling out each part of her body and turning into some grand metaphor. What makes Shakespeare's poem unique is not only that Venus, a woman, is playing the typically male role of pursuer, but that she uses the blazon to praise not the object of her desire but herself. Venus spends a long time detailing her own body, praising its virtues, but the most powerful part of her blazon comes at line 231:

I'll be a park, and thou shalt be my deer.

Feed where thou wilt, on mountain or in dale;

Graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry,

Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.

(231-234)

Damn, girl. Here, Venus gives Adonis a blazon of herself that is essentially pornographic. She compares her body to a lush landscape on which she implores him to feed. It's pretty hard to miss her meaning.

When I read this stanza, I couldn't help but think of Beyonce's song "Rocket". In the song, which is arguably one of the sexiest on Beyonce's self-titled album, Queen Bey utilizes the same graphic blazon that Venus does. Let's examine some of the lyrics:

And rock right up to the 

Side of my mountain

Climb until you reach my peak, babe, the peak, the peak

And reach right into the bottom of my fountain

I wanna play in your deep, baby, deep, baby, deep

(Beyonce, "Rocket", 2014)

Sound familiar? In her song, Beyonce employs the same strategy that Shakespeare's Venus did--the graphic, some might argue pornographic, self-blazon. Both women compare their bodies to lush landscapes on which their lovers can sate themselves. Their curves, their skin, their "fountains" are all part of the beautiful landscape of their body. Both women take the time to appreciate their own bodies in detail, and compare themselves to beauty on a large scale, that of nature. It is also interesting to note that both sets of lyrics compare the female body to mountains and fountains. Aside from the fact that songs and poetry need rhymes, this similarity is intriguing. What is it about the female body that evokes such similar images centuries apart? 

Another thing that I love about both "Rocket" and Venus and Adonis is how unabashedly these women celebrate their own bodies. Both Beyonce and Venus take ownership of their bodies and their sexuality. They are not ashamed of their overt sensuality, and instead celebrate it, telling their lovers (or would-be lovers) just how magnificent their bodies are. So magnificent, in fact, that they can only be compared to things of such magnitude as mountains. Though these two blazons come from very different eras, the female empowerment remains the same. I love that these women are confident enough in their own beauty to compel a lover to quench himself on her plentiful body. It seems that the blazon has not and will not go out of style, particularly the self-blazon.

***If you haven't had the chance to watch Beyonce's music video for "Rocket", I recommend you do so immediately. It will change your life. As pertains to this analysis, there is also some great imagery using the curves of Beyonce's body to mimic hills and landscapes that is worth seeing. 

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson- I mean, Venus.

In Shakespeare's play Venus and Adonis the perception I gathered immediately led me to think of a “Mrs. Robinson” such character for Venus. I interpreted Venus to be essentially ancient compared to Adonis, who is a mere child in retrospect. Yes, he’s probably early teens, but definitely has not quite hit puberty yet (kind of like Justin Bieber). If that is in fact the case, as I perceived it, this is essentially a boy who is probably not interested in females yet, and honestly cares more interested in hanging out with his friends than spending time with a woman… particularly an old one. Venus sets the vibe for an old lady and young boy in mentioning his lack of facial hair, (which we all know), and questioning why he would not want to be with her. However, with her descriptions, who could blame him?

In modern day, we’ve all seen a woman who is 50, who tries to look as though she is still 18. This is a woman who might be represented as a Venus type character, because perhaps these women look for younger company to soothe their loneliness. However, I would take a few steps further, first by saying, Venus could be considered a modern day cougar, or perhaps in the past few decades, a Mrs. Robinson. Mrs. Robinson, of course, relating back to the song by Simon and Garfunkel which was written for the movie The Graduate. This movie depicted a college graduate having an affair with an older woman named Mrs. Robinson. However, does this really depict the Venus character that Shakespeare had imagined? Yes, Venus is older than Adonis, but being a cougar seems different when comparing her to being with a child who hasn’t gone through puberty, or is very close to puberty. I imagine the cougar like woman to be something more of Stifler’s mom from American Pie.

 

This naturally leads to the next step, which is the atrocity that is 50 Shades of Grey. Yes, it’s terrible, but here me out. There was a Mrs. Robinson character in this book as well, who in fact was a Mrs. Robinson to a pre-pubescent boy. Now, were does this leave Venus? Venus is a woman attempting to seduce a young boy who is clearly uninterested in her offerings. As 50 Shades of Grey is viewed, the Mrs. Robinson figure is considered almost worth a prison conviction. Thus, the fact that Venus is attracted to the boy who is still lacking facial hair is fairly concerning and almost pedophile-y. I do believe it would be a different story if she were seducing perhaps a sixteen or seventeen year old boy who is still young but has gone through puberty, however, she is not. As I imagine Adonis, I see him as 14 to 15 year old boy who is simply uninterested in the warmth of a woman at his age. In this sense I get the ’Mrs. Robinson’ vibe from Venus, for being persistent and selective in her attempts to woo Adonis. However, this is just my interpretation and it is totally up for debate: questions, comments, bitches or gripes?

Venus: IFBB Pro & Badass

        While reading Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis and discussing in class some of the possible “masculine” traits she has, I was constantly reminded of an old friend who keeps appearing on my Facebook newsfeed. This friend is a female body builder and has won competitions all over the country. She is an IFBB (International Federation of Body Builders), she’s jacked and has worked extremely hard to be where she is today. But, some people in society still feel as though women body builders are “too masculine” and maybe even “ew she luks so nastie.” (I found these comments on a site that had photos of body builders as I was researching, the misspellings show you just who is commenting on these photos! Ha.) Are female body builders taking on a male role like Venus did in this poem?

As we know from Shakespeare’s version of the tale, Venus seems to take over some of the traits society may see as masculine. Richard Ramuss says in his article, “What it feels like for a boy: Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis,” “Shakespeare’s Venus appears to dwarf Adonis, whom she freely manhandles throughout the poem” (242). It seems as though many critics have questioned if the roles in this version of the poem are reversed. This is also a question many people ask of female body builders. Are they too manly? Is Venus the man in this poem?

Here’s a little bit of fun history behind female body building (which I found at bodybuildingpro.com) --à

·         Origins began in European vaudeville acts and circus strong women acts. (Really?... In the circus? This is probably a factor is society not taking female body builders seriously…. Just sayin’)

·         During the 1950’s through the 70’s, some men’s competitions held women’s beauty or bikini conests.

·         The first official female completion was held in Canton Ohio after the Feminist Movement in November 1977.

·         Gina LaSpina (No idea if that’s a real name but if it is, it’s awesome) was the first champion.

·         Now, hundreds of thousands of women compete all across the world!

As Shakespeare’s tale continues, we see Venus “pluck him [Adonis] from his horse,” and gather him under her arm. He even says to her, “You hurt my hand with wringing.” Does this make Venus a man and Adonis a woman?

Definitely not.

It makes Venus a bad ass because she knows what she wants and it’s Adonis. It also helps that she’s larger than him because she can just pick him up and carry him away, no matter how creepy that may be. (That’s not my point in this blog though…) Just because society feels a certain way about masculine and feminine traits, doesn't mean it has to stay that way. The evolution of female body building is proving that. While it is not for me, I will continue to like away at the Facebook photos of my friend and her bronzed, sparkly bikini, and killer abs because she’s doing what she wants, just like Venus was trying to do. 

Liminal Lovers

            Richard Rambuss’ piece “What It Feels Like for a Boy: Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis” explores the “liminal, beardless boy” that is Adonis. However, both Venus and Adonis in the poem both exhibit and experience certain liminal qualities, those that rest in a state of disorientation, ambiguity, or transition.  

            The poem begins with describing Adonis as “[r]ose-cheeked” (line 3) and Venus “like a bold-faced suitor [that] ’gins to woo him” (line 6). Not only does this indicate a sort of gender role reversal, but this also puts both Adonis and Venus in liminal positions regarding their identities, based on the narrator’s phrasing in the beginning of the poem. This disorients the two characters from their patriarchal-assigned gender roles, as it associates Adonis with an air of more physical beauty and Venus as a man attempting to gain Adonis’ favor. This is also evident when she references him as a “[s]tain to all nymphs, more lovely than a man” (line 9); then, later, the narrator of the poem compares Adonis’ blushing to that of a “maiden burning of…cheeks” (line 50). Venus seeks to disorient Adonis so he may question his identity, bringing him almost to a place of nonexistence, or a liminal space, in which he does not fit into being altogether masculine or feminine. She does this, however, by attempting to feminize him despite his identity as a cis male (or what is assumed from the poem). In this she hopes to bring him closer to her by making him liminal like her.

One depiction of Adonis being pursued by Venus.

            Venus is also liminal, seen as the masculine pursuer instead of the feminine figure being pursued. Not only is she referred to as having an “engine of her thoughts” (line 367), but Adonis’ hand caught in hers is like a “lily prisoned in a jail of snow” (line 362). These lines paint Venus as having male characteristics, of working like an engine and a snow bank that cannot be lifted. Despite depicting her more masculine, it feels more as though Venus is stuck in a liminal state of god and human rather than being hypermasculinized. As a god she is used to harnessing and applying the power she has to what- or whoever she wants, as “[h]er lips are conquerors, his lips obey” (line 549). Gods themselves, even the female, are masculine to the extent that they do whatever they please: “She wildly breaketh from their strict (restricting) embrace” (line 874). In this sense is Venus masculinized through her god status, and, more often than not, feels more commonly accepted. Furthermore, it feels as though Venus wishes to enter a transitioning state, as “[s]he’s love; she loves; and yet she is not loved” (line 610). As a goddess humans cannot fully satisfy her for eternity because she is immortal and her human lovers are not. Despite this, she pursues love, but Adonis “hate[s] not love, but [Venus’] device (tactics) in love” (line 789). Venus, being a goddess, would not be versed in the human tactics of love, which would include the girl shunted into the patriarchal system, never to speak and always to consent, the exact opposite of the pursuing and forceful Venus.

            “Venus and Adonis” addresses some complex situations of liminality in regards to what it means to be male or female and what it means to be human and love. Is Adonis truly androgynous, or is that how he is painted out to be? Even after Adonis’ death, would Venus ever be able to achieve human love, or is she forever stuck in a liminal space? 

I Am Woman. Can I Court You?

In Venus and Adonis, the story depicts through the horses what is thought as the natural course of love in Elizabethan times. Using the horses’ animal instinct as a device, by nature the male is supposed to approach and court while the female acts modest until giving into the advances of the male. If the reversal is done and the female becomes the pursuer, which is shown through Venus’s actions, then the course of love becomes forced and unnatural. During the past centuries men and women alike have believed and abide by this method of courtship naming any woman who goes "against nature” as a “whore”, “hussy”, or “vixen” (to name a few). Even the 1949 movie Neptune’s Daughter explores courtship when initiated by a man (00:03) versus initiated by a woman (2:30).

When courtship is initiated by a man, he seems teasing and playful which eventually leads to the woman, of course playing coy at first, warming up to his advances and rewarding him for his persistence. This nice display of blossoming love is then contrasted with the aggressive and animalistic display of courtship initiated by the women while the man tries multiple times, but fails, to escape the woman’s forward advances. Adonis feels you, man.

So fast forward to society today. Has this mindset changed or do we still abide by the rules of Elizabethan courtship? Can women reveal their inner Venus? Is it okay for a woman to approach a man first? A lot of people would say yes, but if we look into media and articles there’s a lack of consensus. Some men say go for it and that a forward woman is a fresh breath of air. Other men say don’t approach because men only appreciate a challenge. Some women say stop sitting on the sidelines and get what you want. Other women say you got to make him work for it. So where does that leaves us? Is it okay for women to take the more masculine role? Will female initiation of courtship become socially acceptable? Is there any progress?

Some women have taken it on their shoulders to make female initiation of courtship socially acceptable. In “Lady Gaga and the Muppet Spectacular” that aired November of 2013, Lady Gaga sings a rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with Joseph Gordon-Levitt where she’s singing the part of the pursuer (00:40). Does it work?

Even though they butchered the bejeezus out of the lyrics to one my favorite winter songs, I think they sold it. Lady Gaga acted forward, persistent, but still remained playful and alluring. But television shows and live recordings of rehearsed choreography aren’t real life. So is it possible for a woman to tastefully take the more masculine part of courtship and pursue a man? Most definitely. Are we progressing away from the Elizabethan courtship expectations that Venus and Adonis presents? Slowly but surely. But is it socially acceptable for a woman to pursue a man without being called “slut” or “needy”? I’m not so sure.