Análisis de casos

The production considered in this chapter could be regarded as one example why scholarly analyses of Shakespeare‟s poems in performance are almost non-existent. There are no reviews and although information about the actors and directors involved can be found on the internet even the critics from the Shakespeare Jahrbuch 139 do not mention this performance at all in their reviews of the 2001/2002 season (Schabert: 2003: p. 208-250). The World Shakespeare Bibliography indicates that this production had its premiere on 6 December 2001 at the Schauspielhaus in Düsseldorf under the direction of Martin Oelbermann and his assistant Tanja Brugger with Michael Volk as the dramaturge. According to the database it seems like this was a combination or adaptation based on texts by Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes

and William Shakespeare with Eva Spott as „Sie/Venus/Lukrezia‟ („She/Venus/Lucrece‟‟), Michael Fuchs as „Er/Adonis/Tarquin‟ („He/Adonis/Tarquin‟) and Stefan Schuster as „Erzähler‟ („narrator‟), Konstantin Sonneson was responsible for lighting. Yet, due to the mentioning of „Sie‟ („She‟) and „Er‟ („He‟) as characters it would also be possible that this was a production combining Shakespeare‟s poems with a theatrical reproduction of Sylvia Plath‟s and Ted Hughes‟ lives with different kinds of love as an overarching theme.

So as to not speculate too much however this chapter will be dedicated to a comparison between Shakespeare‟s Venus and Adonis and Ted Hughes‟ Venus and Adonis

(and Atalanta) (Hughes: 1997: p. 128-143), the latter of which had been adapted for the stage

on its own by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1999 when ten tales were chosen for performance. Both poems deal with the love of the goddess of love for Adonis, both equally include a story narrated by Venus and in both poems Adonis dies in the end. Although there are similarities between Shakespeare‟s and Hughes‟s poems, the latter provides a different point of view of the characters and, when both poems are combined for performance, can shape an audience‟s opinion about the characters quite drastically. In addition, when preparing those poems for an actual production other decisions about cuts and inclusions have to be made, for example when it comes to the behaviour of the characters as well as the background story.

Ted Hughes‟ Venus and Adonis (and Atalanta) is part of his collection of poems Tales

from Ovid (Hughes: 1997: p. 128-143), which provides twenty-four tales from Ovid‟s Metamorphoses in a modern rendering. Others stories included in this collection are The Rape of Proserpina, Tereus and Pyramus and Thisbe, which have also been taken up by

Shakespeare in various plays as well as his poems. Hughes‟ poem begins with the birth of Adonis. His mother Myrrha is praying for being „no part/ Of either her life or her death‟: „the

earth‟ (both p.128) has pity on her and changes Myrrha‟s human form to that of the myrrh- tree. The young woman‟s sin consisted in having fallen in love and sleeping with her father Cinyras, thereby becoming pregnant with Adonis who is both her son and her brother. She is pursued by her father but the gods take pity on her: Adonis is born out of the myrrh-tree and raised by „nymphs of the flowing waters‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 129). Seemingly a moment later he is a young man of great beauty that Venus „feels awe‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 130). It is hinted here that Myrrha wants to revenge herself on Venus for making her fall in love with her father: as such Venus nicks herself on an arrow in Adonis‟ quiver and falls in love with him in turn. She forgets everything else and even changes her behaviour out of love. Whereas she spent a lot of time in the shades before, she now goes hunting after hares and hinds as Adonis likes hunting. Venus prefers those animals which can do no real harm however and entreats Adonis to do the same. Boars, wolves, bears and lions are too dangerous and she advises the young man to leave those animals alone. If he is killed while hunting them, he might have gained honour but she would lose her „heart in a fool‟s gamble‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 131). She clearly does not like wild animals, which Adonis does not understand. When he asks about it, she first explains that all that hunting activity tire her out as she is not used to it and when they retire to a secluded spot in the woods, she explains with a story why she abhors lions, boars and others. The story she tells is the story of Atalanta and Hippomenos. It seems as if Venus wants to convey a special meaning with this story to Adonis but he does not understand it fully as becomes apparent afterwards after Venus has left him. In her story, Atalanta is bound by a prophecy to marry the man who wins a race against her; if she wins, the men lose their lives. It becomes obvious very early that Hippomenos is in love with her but does not dare take part in the race to win her as his wife. Atalanta is equally in love with him and does not want him to lose his life but she has no other recourse to take him as her

husband as having him win the race. Hippomenos prays to Venus for help and the goddess provides him with three golden apples which he successfully uses to distract Atalanta from the race and is victorious as a consequence. Instead of thanking Venus however he forgets all about her help and consequently experiences the goddess‟s anger. Both Hippomenos and Atalanta decide to spend the night in a temple for „Cybele, Mother of the Gods‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 140) when Venus enchants Hippomenos so that he rapes Atalanta in her sleep. Cybele is now out for revenge too as her temple has been defiled but instead of plunging them into Styx and eternal hell-fire, she transforms both of them into lions, which are obedient only to Cybele herself. This is the reason why Venus hates lions and wild animals and would rather have Adonis give up hunting instead of running the danger of being killed one day. Left alone by Venus to ponder her words and the story, his hounds wake up a wild boar which, after being wounded by Adonis, now turns on the hunter and kills him quite brutally. Venus, „afloat on swansdown in the high blue‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 142), feels Adonis‟ agony in death and hurries to his side. She rips open her clothes, harms herself and rages against the Fates that they are not to have Adonis‟ body. Instead she drips nectar into it and thereby transforms him into a flower which she regards as his eternal monument although „This flower‟s life is brief./ Its petals cling so weakly, so ready to fall/ Under the first light wind that kisses it‟ (Hughes: 1997: p. 143). It is the windflower; with this explanation Hughes‟s poem ends.

Shakespeare in contrast wrote his poem Venus and Adonis following Ovid‟s

Metamorphoses only loosely. Like the Latin writer he presented the erotic experiences and

anxieties of the characters from both perspectives, from both seducer and seduced, even more so than Hughes had done in his poem which is almost devoid of anything more seductive than Venus‟ voice. However, he rewrote the relationship between Venus and Adonis as he wanted to. The traditional roles of seducer and seduced are disturbed. In both Shakespeare‟s as well

as Hughes‟s narrative it is the fact that the seducer is female and a goddess. Yet, Shakespeare‟s Venus is much more actively seductive than Hughes‟ when she uses her experience with Mars to prove to Adonis how desirable she is (l. 97-114). The earlier poem also includes other attempts at seduction which represent matching parts to the overall theme. After Venus has plucked Adonis from his stallion, the animal notices a mare and tries to impress her with its strength and finally seduces the female horse (l. 269-324). Venus uses this opportunity to rebuke Adonis for his ever-lasting resistance to love (l. 379-408). In addition, the original includes a third attempt at seduction which can get lost however if the poem is put on stage. The lovers are described in a way that can arouse the passion of a reader with imaginative powers of his own but which might get lost in a performance. Adonis is depicted as the counterpart to the traditional love object of Petrarchan love poetry, whereas Venus behaves as a dominant male lover.

Shakespeare‟s Venus and Adonis begins with a reversal of the traditional rhetoric of a love poem. In the first stanza Adonis‟s resistance to love and the behaviour of Venus like a „bold-faced suitor‟ are described. This sets the tone for the rest: the goddess of love has fallen in love with a mortal boy who is more eager to go hunting with his friends than being seduced. At the beginning of Venus‟s long speech she assumes that even nature is angry with Adonis as he will not marry and procreate (l. 189). She uses all the traditional rhetorical devices like the blazon to persuade Adonis to enter in a relationship with her. But by applying it only to her own body, Venus is basically depicted as being downright ridiculous (l. 145- 198). She is consumed by her love to the coy boy and does not recognize her follies. The goddess exerts her strength on Adonis when he mounts his stallion to join his friends for the hunt. She ties the reigns to some bush or tree and carries on with seducing him. She brings Adonis and herself in a position not uncommon for lovers and touches his cheeks (l. 39-96).

He frowns and tries to resist her, but in vain. She proceeds to kiss him on his lips and every other part of his face. He accepts, but does not enjoy it nor participates willingly. The more he opposes himself to her seductive attempts, the more aggressive Venus becomes: his anger makes him even more beautiful. Finally the goddess seems to be appreciative of the young man‟s feelings and promises to let him go in exchange for a kiss (l. 79-96). Adonis raises his face but in the last moment he pulls away and Venus is inflamed anew. She relates her relationship with Mars during which the god of war behaved like her slave. But nothing can persuade Adonis to give in to her attempts, which causes her to become more aggressive in her tone and takes refuge to insults. She compares herself to old women (l. 133-144) and to a park (l. 229-240) wherein Adonis should be the deer, only to get a favourable reply from him. By chance, Adonis‟s stallion perceives a mare and tries equally to seduce her and successfully impresses her with his strength. Adonis tries futilely to recapture his horse but has to endure Venus‟ attempts again. When he opens his mouth to speak, she faints as in anticipation of his refusal (l. 451-575). He tries to revive her with a kiss but in her greediness she is not apt to let him go after only one. She clings to Adonis even more when he reveals he is going to hunt the boar the next day. But finally night falls and she cannot restrain Adonis any longer. He departs admitting being ashamed of himself having spent the whole day with her and enduring all her vain words. Venus is left alone and when Adonis goes hunting the next day, the outcome is the same as in Hughes‟s poem. The boar kills him and Venus transforms his body into a flower to preserve him forever. It seems that desire like that of Venus for Adonis is in fact disastrous in both poems and can only end in death and destruction.

It becomes apparent that, although the two poems derive from the same source and include the same characters, the inherent story and the characters‟ behaviour is very different to some extent. When adapting both for performance as for example the production in

question seems to have done, some ideas and thoughts have to be agreed on first, as for example the number of characters to be performed. In this particular case it has been done already: Venus is played by one actress, Adonis by one actor, a narrator is used to fill in the main story. When blending two narratives into one coherent plotline, further decisions about the exact content are necessary. Hughes‟ poem reads more like a revenge story at the beginning when Myrrha makes Venus fall in love with her son as a punishment for making herself fall in love with her own father; in Shakespeare‟s poem the starting point is Venus‟ love for Adonis only. It now depends on the decision of the performers and the director as to what they want to include: although Shakespeare‟s plays usually start in medias res, the necessary background knowledge is usually conveyed almost immediately through characters‟ speeches. As such there are two possibilities for a staging of his poem: if Venus should be seen only as seducing Adonis, and therefore a slightly negative character, including this background from Hughes‟ poem would tip the audience‟s opinion in her favour. In contrast, the negative image of Venus is painted by Hughes in the story of Atalanta and Hippomenes and when keeping the overall tone of Shakespeare‟s poem it would make more sense to integrate this story into a production. What comes into focus here too is the length of both poems: whereas Shakespeare wrote 1194 lines, according to the 1997 Oxford Edition, Hughes‟s poem is only 341 verses in length. This difference makes it necessary to determine how long an actual performance should be: as some reviewers of previous productions have remarked on, at some point a performance based on one of Shakespeare‟s narrative poems always seems to drag on a bit. A reduction of the original Venus and Adonis is therefore necessary and Hughes‟ contribution should be not necessarily short but well-integrated. This however makes a further decision very important: the two poems have been written several hundred years apart and as such their language is quite different. A resulting mixture of both

can only result in a fractured text, as was the case for the production of The Rape of Lucrece considered in the next chapter, although for a different reason. However, in terms of an actual description of the goddess and her lover the wordiness of Shakespeare‟s poem is helpful as Hughes‟ poem does not give a lot of detailed information as to their appearance. One would expect however an actor portraying Adonis to be very handsome and an actress playing Venus to have a stereotypical female look as to allow for the speech about her body as a garden for Adonis to wander in to make sense. This brings up too the question of which costumes should be used to enhance their looks and which props to use during the performance and what is conveyed through speech only. When it comes to the story told by Venus in Hughes‟s poem it would for example make sense to have Venus manipulate puppets to portray Atalanta and Hippomenes in some sort of shadow-play on a screen. Similarly, the short story in Shakespeare‟s poem of Adonis‟ horse running away with a mare would be possible to portray in this manner whereas Venus could just narrate the story of her and Mars. Alternatively, the narrator could step in at this point and take over, leaving the actors portraying the two main characters in those moments to either lying together on the stage with Venus trying to seduce Adonis.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of decisions which need to be made but it hopefully provides a more detailed overview over the difficulties in staging Shakespeare‟s poems, especially when they are combined with other texts, something which has been the case for the production in the following chapter too.