XXXIII. VENUS VICTRIX & VENUS VERTICORDIA IMAGE

Could Juno's self more sovereign presence wear
Than thou, 'mind other ladies throned in grace?
Or Pallas, when thou bend'st with soul-stilled face
O'er poet's page gold-shadowed in thy hair?
Dost thou than venus seem less heavenly fair
When o'er the sea of love's tumultuous trance
Hovers thy smile, and mingles with thy glance
That sweet voice like the last wave murmuring there?

Before such triune loveliness divine
Awestruck I ask, which goddess here most claims
The prize that, howsoe'er adjudged, is thine?
Then Love breathes low the sweetest of thy names;
And Venus Victrix to my heart doth bring
Herself, the Helen of her guerdoning.

 

 

 

 

ROSSETTI

AUTHOR: DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI
TITLE OF POEM: VENUS VICTRIX
TITLE OF WORK: THE HOUSE OF LIFE
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1881
PLACE OF PUBLICATION: ENGLAND

 

ANALYSIS

The subject of this poem makes reference to the praise of Venus Victrix.
First, we will analyze the poem; the author concentrates the attention on mythological figures such as Juno ( Zeus' wife) Pallas ( Atenea, Zeus' daughter and goddess of wisdom) or Helena ( Paris' fiancé).
In this poem, there is a kind of competition where the poet is comparing goddesses among them, until he has to award who is the most perfect one ( line 10 & 11) " Awestruck I ask, which goddess here most claims the prize that, howsoe'er adjuged, is thine? "
He has to choose among " the triune loveliness divine" ( line 9) " before such triune loveliness divine", in fact this sentence reminds us of the picture of " las tres gracias " by Rubens, where those three ones, Juno, Atenea and Venus appeared.
Finally, Love ( also makes reference to "Cupid" ) who chooses one, Venus Victrix, ( line 12) " then Love breathes low the sweetest of thy names"; and then the author establishes a comparison between Venus and Helena ( lines 13 & 14) " and Venus Victrix to my heart doth bring herself, the Helen of her guerdoning". This sentence can be a symbol of an eternal love or we can interpret it as a carnal love too because Venus Victrix is a goddess of prostitutes.

The author as a pre-raphaelite is interested in neoclassic themes such as mythological subjects, because of that we can observe so many mythological characters in this poem.
In respect to the picture, we can observe a beatiful woman ( Venus) painted by Rossetti, that woman appears in a suggestive way, with an uncovered breast, a feature common enough in neoclassic pictures.

This feature points out the not just spiritual aspect of women, but also the carnal aspect. the picture reveals a clear mysticism, managed by colours and lights, even it seems more a virgin's portrait than a goddess of love. This feature is called an "erotic mysticism".

In respect to stylistic figures, we find comparisons. ( lines 7 & 8 )" hovers thy smile, and mingles with the glance that sweet voice like the last wave murmuring there? " or ( lines 13 & 14 ) " and Venus Victrix to my heart doth bring herself, the H elen of her guerdoning"
In respect to the rhyme, its structure is a/b/b/a/c/c/a/d/e/d/e/d/e/f/f, its meter is a iambic pentameter and it is a sonnet.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

The poem and the picture are united by the same character, Venus, and both show the beauty of this goddess and her eroticism, one uses words, and the other one uses the combination of colours and both together are complementaries. The author represents the woman in a suggestive way, but treating her with tactfulness because he does not pretend to be immoral or vulgar, he just wants to point out the beauty of the Venus Victrix in every way.

 

SOURCES

VENUS VICTRIX POEM. 1998-2006 Poetry X. 7 May 2006. http://www.poetry.poetryx.com/poems/7111/

VENUS PORTRAIT. Dante Gabriel Rossetti -works and biography-OCAIW. 7 May 2006. http://www.ocaiw.com/1rossetti.htm