A Wood

This entire poem takes place in a wood of some kind. There is relatively little description of what this setting is like, though readers are told several things that it contains: a grove where Venus waits for Adonis, a copse of myrtle trees, and a chase appropriate for hunting. However, there is little detail provided about each of these individual elements of the wood. Instead, the poem focuses on the interactions between Venus and Adonis, highlighting moments when they are together as well as those when the setting precludes Venus from seeing Adonis's demise.

Antiquity

This poem was taken from a classical story, best known from its representation in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid was an ancient Roman writer who retold many existing myths, mostly focusing on the theme of transformation. The primary source of these stories were even older tales taken from Ancient Greek mythology. Although this poem...