Symbol: Venus
Venus, as the goddess of love, symbolizes love itself. In fact, Shakespeare frequently refers to Venus as simply "Love" throughout the poem. Venus's character is multifaceted and develops as the poem progresses – she begins as a lustful pursuer of Adonis but ultimately comes to mourn him as if he were her own child. Venus's erratic behavior and unpredictability throughout the poem mirrors the unknowability of love that Petrarchan poets in Elizabethan England often expressed in their own lyrics.
Symbol: Flower
The flower that springs up amidst Adonis's blood symbolizes rebirth. In the original Roman myth, Adonis's death coupled with the blooming of the flower described the transition from the decay of winter to the verdant growth of springtime. In Shakespeare's poem, however, the flower becomes less an element of the natural world and more of a surrogate for the children Adonis does not have a chance to bear. That it is purple and white – stained by his blood – allows Venus to envision that the flower springs directly from Adonis himself. As such, Venus vows to protect the flower as if it is Adonis's own kin.
Motif: Hunting
Hunting appears throughout the poem in a number of different iterations. At the beginning of the narrative, Adonis's preference for hunting over romantic love is evidence of his youth, as he would rather enjoy the sport with his friends than find a lover or have children. However, as the narrative unfolds, hunting becomes synonymous with the pursuit of love and sex, ultimately undermining Adonis's assertion that he is not interested in the mechanics of love and eroticism. Adonis's own horse "hunts" the mare that runs by, Venus hunts Adonis, and Adonis hunts the wild boar that eventually kills him – just as love, Venus declares at the end of the poem, will do to future lovers.
Symbol: Adonis's Horse
Adonis's horse symbolizes Adonis himself, specifically the version of Adonis that Venus desires to see. The horse is, like Adonis, ravishingly beautiful. The narrator dedicates multiple stanzas to describing the strength, health, and virility of the horse before describing how the horse becomes "enraged" by a mare that runs by (317). The horse's instinctual response to the mare – excitability that causes him to break free of his bindings and abandon Adonis – signifies the "natural" order of the world for which Venus advocates. Just as the horse pursued the mare out of the natural compulsion to procreate, so too should Adonis embrace Venus's advancements.
Motif: Picking Flowers
Throughout their dialogue, Venus and Adonis both make frequent reference to the notion of picking flowers and fruit. They use this concept to express their respective stances on whether Adonis should concede to Venus's affections. For Venus, flowers must be picked while still in bloom otherwise they wither and decay – meaning, for Adonis, that he should have sex and procreate while he is in his prime. By contrast, Adonis argues that flowers that are plucked before they have bloomed never grow strong, and thus suggests that he is not yet strong enough in his sense of self to be thinking about love, sex, and procreation. These arguments foreshadow Adonis's death, when afterward a flower blooms in his blood and Venus picks it to carry with her forever.
