Venus and Adonis

Venus and Adonis

Venus:
You hurt me. So much....
But you know that.
You hurt me more than I can put into words,
You know that too.
Everytime you leave, I die a little bit more inside.
But you know.
You know you're the only one who can make it better
You hurt me so much, it hurts so good..
But you know, don't you?

Adonis
I hurt myself by hurting you...
But you know that.
I try my best to pretend I don't care,
You know that too.
I leave for hunting because it hurts to be near you,
beside you,
knowing what you have done,
We are falling apart...
but you know, don't you?

VENUS AND ADONIS

You always do this to me,
It has always been the same,
Why can’t you love me as much as I love you?
I have always been there for you, always given you a shoulder to cry on
I thought you were the only one I could rely on....
Oh how wrong could I have been?
At my desperate times of need
You left me
Sitting there in the cold, trying to grab on to your body
For you, for hope, for us
I lost everything for you
Family, friends, hope
Now I sit alone cold and naked
Without a friend or a lover
It’s me alone again to fend my self against the whole wide world.

Venus and Mars

Why am i not important?
What have i done to him?
does he not fell attracted to me?
am i not enough?
or am i too much to handle?
Why does he not respond when i call his name?
does he not feel attracted to my perfection?
or am i just boring?

Venus & Mars

Venus:

Its always the same with him
The ONE night i have off
and he's slumped on the floor
No doubt the cherubs took him drinking again
They're a terrible influence on him
any other man woul kill to spend the evening with me!
I just don't get it...
I told him we need councelling
He dismisses the subject everytime i bring it up
The irony of it all is that Im the goddess of love and my love life is going nowhere!
Perhaps i should give up and accept this is how my life is

Mr And Mrs Andrews

I had thought that my dreams would soon be reality one day.
But were they?
No.
Me impatiently waiting here...
For someone to come and rescue me,
Who would treat me with respect,
And be faithful,
and love me.
But what was the use?
I wish that I'd have another to love...
And to care for...
Someone to call my own.
But why?
So I'm still here sitting impatiently...
Hoping for a miracle,
Waiting...
With HIM.

Mr and Mrs. Andrews

Mrs Andrews

You are the man, who has everything he's ever dreamt of.
Right?
Wrong.
This is the day where my truth arrives,
The day when I release my views on truth, pain, love.
You think your silence can hide the untrue love,
Silence cannot be your alibi forever,
Silence is the give-away,
The evidence.
Behold the truth I know,
The countless clues I see.
Day to night you carry that gun. Why?
Protection?
Or fear?
Hide those fine lady friends of yours,
Flashing their bonnets and wearing no wedding ring.
Is it my love that drives your desire?
Or the dead child that haunts your dreams.
Upon this vivid morning arrived the fair,
But you brought me, here.
To sit upon this vivid chair.
With that blasted gun,
How many has it helped to end?
Hearts I mean.
Our author,
Swirling colours and light,
Left a place in my lap.
For what?
Nothing.
Too serene this hill.
Orders by your word?
Obviously.
Finally, it is your time.
Tell me the words you've been wanting to say,
End me. End this child. End my heart.
Leave your evidence binding gun,
Pick your life up once again.

Mrs Andrews.

I don't think my dear husband could become more infantile.
Look at him with his shotgun trying to grasp out at some form of masculinity, I do think he is rather beautiful.
I force myself to think that because I have come across like I have not one ounce of bitterness.
The plan would never work otherwise.
When I spoke to the painter earlier I asked him whether he would reserve a space on the bench,
which Mr Andrews would presume was for his future heir.
In fact I only requested for this painting to be done
so I could have a memory to laugh and cry about.
The space in the picture was never planned for an angelic offspring,
but for one dear Mr Darcy.
Majorie our maid had consulted me to not have a dalliance with such a young rapscallion,
but perhaps that's what enchanted me about him,
his beautiful chest pulsating with overbearing passion,
certainly more than Mr Andrews:
'once a month for recreation'.
And whenever he consulted his conscience and realised he didn't have an offspring to leave his estate to, he pathetically tried to woo me into the four poster;
curiously it was never the right time of month.

Venus and Adonis

Venus

Look at him!
Sometimes I really do wonder why the hell I’m here.
I wouldn’t mind if it looked like he was paying me the least bit of attention.
But, as it is obvious to see, he isn’t.
I wasn’t born yesterday. Does he think I can’t see he is looking straight through me?
O but I’m not hurt no don’t jump to conclusions
I can live without him.
Who am I kidding?
Look at me, clinging on to him.
Hopeless, hopeless without him that’s what I am
But look at the good points he doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere fast does he.
Mission pretty much accomplished
One to me
Nil to him

Adonis

O for god sake!
I have a question for my self
Why the hell did I come back from hunting?
I don’t see it I have my dogs raring to go raring to hunt.
But still I’m stuck here with this woman stuck to my shooting arm.
Is she trying to jeopardise my daily catch.
Is she mad? Mind, don’t answer that question.
All she does is moan
Hence why I’m looking straight through her not at her
But I wouldn’t mind if she could catch a hint
But no she thinks I want to stay here, with her talking
Exactly what I don’t want to be doing
I would have thought because the painter was here
She would at least try not to look as desperate
I guess no one can be that lucky
Can they?
As you can probably see I have officially given up
One to her
Nil to me

Venus and Adonis

You come, you go
In and out of my life. For what?
Hunting.
Hunting those pointless beasts.
Leaving me behind, stark naked
In the cold, alone with Cupid.
Hopeless,
No-one to watch over me.
My life is at it's end.
Please,
I beg of you, Adonis,
Don't leave me.
My heart is empty,
I'm helpless without you.
I need you,
Adonis please,
Don't go.

venus and adonis

Venus

Why must you go hunting
when you could stay here with me
your scent, your touch,the feeling your there;
thats all i shall ever need
i hold on to you but you don't hold onto me
a one way relashionship its me myself and i,
we both know it should be:me you and..cupid?
ha! but what help is he,
standing there like some sort of king.
well then if he is, then this i pray:
Adonis my sweet dont go, please stay
for if you go you may never come back.
lets be together forever.Just Adonis and me!

Adonis

moan,moan,moan why cant she just let me be?
i need my independence
surely she can see
everone need there space even "her royalness"
im a mortal shes a godess
but i still have feelings.
i love her
that i cant deny
but im not kentucky
and shes not chicken
we cant always be together
itll drive me away
and then when im gone
im gone not even cupid will save me!

Mr and Mrs Andrews

Mr Andrews

This is the life!
What else could a man want?
Handsome face, wealth, bride, and a personal painter;
I hope he paints me properly, with a bit of nip and tuck here and there.
He better paint my wife properly too,
I don’t want her looking ugly,
What would the world say?
I cannot bear the thought of it.
Well no need to worry, I’ve got it all under control;
Flash some money under his nose and he paints the world’s most beautiful, delightful and wonderful picture
What would I do without money?
God knows
Well I would not have Mrs Andrews here for starters.

Mrs Andrews

My life is over.
Why do I have to sit in this position?
This corset! I can’t breathe!
In addition, I have to put on this stupid posh accent for the whole time this painter is here
I have to pretend that I am painting something like a child for me to hold.
How sad.
I can’t believe that this man bought off my parents so easily.
He played with our weakness and got a ‘beautiful lady companion’
Please! Reach out for the sick bucket;
Be sure to give me one as well.
I am definitely going to need it the most listening to this old crackpot 24/7.
He even mumbles in his sleep
Oh god!
Your not going to kiss me now are you.
I would rather wear this corset forever then kiss you.

Venus And Adonis

Going hunting that’s all he ever does
look at me clinging onto him like glue;
I may as well have gone for the dogs.
Cupid isn’t helping much either
staggering around in the back.
My stark naked body is cold from fear,
yet warm with love...
I’m spellbound by this mortal,
yet my beautiful love refuses to stay.
“Him not returning” is my worst fear
but his heart is somewhere else.
My love is gone, I guess Cupids real job
is done...

samson and delilah

He was a Herculean figure in anyone’s mind
It didn’t bother me though
For a man is not a man without a woman.
I wasn’t fearful of him, no
That would have been patronising
To fear a man of which his power was rooted in his hair?
Without his hair he was nothing,
As I soon found out
Without his hair he was like every other power hungry peasant
Hopeless, and in no way worthy of my accompaniment.
He was spellbound by love
In a way which only love can achieve,
As I sat there watching down like the eagles that swooped from above
I couldn’t help but realise, Samson was no longer a homicidal Hercules
He was more of a balding peasant who could barely hold his own weight
O how gay the birds had suddenly sounded as Samson awoke.
I suppose it was wrong,
But it felt so right,
With the god that had driven him to his destiny overlooking his unavoidable fate
And the peasants that were left after my Hercules had finished his killing spree
Crowding the doorway.
I don’t know how such a foul deed could be carried out under the eyes of god,
But whatever the reason,
Love is avoidable
Fate is not.

Task 6: Dramatic Monologues

As I said on the most recent podcast, we're going to take a break from iambs and trochees and the rest of their frustrating family for the time being.

However, I would still very much like you each to go back over your sonnets and redraft them again - according to the checklist and tips I included in today's podcast. Iambic pentameters are PERFECTLY within your grasp - ALL of you. It is just going to take more practice for lots of you.

Right now, you could:
a) give up and decide that you just CAN'T do it; OR
b) persevere and keep trying until you CAN do it.

I strongly advise you to choose Option B - as this is what the workshop should be all about. STRETCHING and pushing yourself as hard as you can, and never settling for second best.

* * * * *

Right - on to Task 6, which, you will be relieved to hear, may be written in FREE VERSE (although you are welcome to attempt it in sonnets if you are particularly ambitious!).

Look at this painting:


It is called St George and the Dragon by Paolo Ucello, and was painted in 1455.

Over 500 years later, the poet Ursula Fanthorpe wrote a poem called 'Not My Best Side', inspired by Ucello's painting.

In her poem, Fanthorpe provides three separate dramatic monologues - one for each of the protagonists from the painting: the dragon, the maiden and St George.

She uses these monologues to subvert the traditions surrounding the painting (and the myth it portrays), showing each of the characters in a refreshing new light. In doing so, she challenges the whole nature of stereotypes; heroism; sexuality; and good and evil. And it's all really fun(ny) to read too!

Here is the poem:

I

Not my best side, I'm afraid.
The artist didn't give me a chance to
Pose properly, and as you can see,
Poor chap, he had this obsession with
Triangles, so he left off two of my
Feet. I didn't comment at the time
(What, after all, are two feet
To a monster?) but afterwards
I was sorry for the bad publicity.
Why, I said to myself, should my conqueror
Be so ostentatiously beardless, and ride
A horse with a deformed neck and square hoofs?
Why should my victim be so
Unattractive as to be inedible,
And why should she have me literally
On a string? I don't mind dying
Ritually, since I always rise again,
But I should have liked a little more blood
To show they were taking me seriously.

II

It's hard for a girl to be sure if
She wants to be rescued. I mean, I quite
Took to the dragon. It's nice to be
Liked, if you know what I mean. He was
So nicely physical, with his claws
And lovely green skin, and that sexy tail,
And the way he looked at me,
He made me feel he was all ready to
Eat me. And any girl enjoys that.
So when this boy turned up, wearing machinery,
On a really dangerous horse, to be honest
I didn't much fancy him. I mean,
What was he like underneath the hardware?
He might have acne, blackheads or even
Bad breath for all I could tell, but the dragon--
Well, you could see all his equipment
At a glance. Still, what could I do?
The dragon got himself beaten by the boy,
And a girl's got to think of her future.

III

I have diplomas in Dragon
Management and Virgin Reclamation.
My horse is the latest model, with
Automatic transmission and built-in
Obsolescence. My spear is custom-built,
And my prototype armour
Still on the secret list. You can't
Do better than me at the moment.
I'm qualified and equipped to the
Eyebrow. So why be difficult?
Don't you want to be killed and/or rescued
In the most contemporary way? Don't
You want to carry out the roles
That sociology and myth have designed for you?
Don't you realize that, by being choosy,
You are endangering job prospects
In the spear- and horse-building industries?
What, in any case, does it matter what
You want? You're in my way.

And your task? Well, look below at a selection of paintings.

Sandro BOTTICELLI (1445-1510), 'Venus and Mars': Mars, god of war, was one of the lovers of Venus, goddess of love. Here Mars is asleep and unarmed, while Venus is awake and alert. The meaning of the picture is that love conquers war, or love conquers all.

Peter Paul RUBENS (1577-1640), 'Samson and Delilah': Samson, the Jewish hero, fell in love with Delilah. She was bribed by the Philistines, and discovered that his strength came from his hair which had never been cut. While he was asleep it was cut, Samson was drained of his strength and the Philistines were able to capture him. Old Testament (Judges 16: 17-20). Rubens depicts a candlelit interior; the Philistines wait at the door, one of their number cuts Samson's hair, while an elderly woman provides extra light. In a niche behind is a statue of the goddess of love, Venus, with Cupid, a reference to the cause of Samson's fate.

Thomas GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788), 'Mr and Mrs Andrews': The landscape evokes Robert Andrew's estate, to which his marriage added property. He has a gun under his arm, while his wife sits on an elaborate wooden bench. The painting of Mrs Andrews' lap is unfinished. The space may have been reserved for a child for Mrs Andrews to hold. The painting follows the fashionable convention of the conversation piece, a (usually) small-scale portrait showing two or more people, often out of doors.

Tiziano Vecelli (1485-1576), 'Venus and Adonis': The goddess Venus conceived a hopeless passion for the beautiful mortal Adonis, and here implores him to stay and love her, rather than go hunting. Adonis refused, and was later accidentally killed and anemones sprung from his blood. Cupid is in the background.

Your task is to choose one of them, and then write a dramatic monologue for each of the main protagonists.

Your set of monologues should:

• be original - both in your ideas and in the language you use;
• surprise the reader - by your unusual take on the story or your challenge of what we would expect;
• be different - each poem should exude the specific and idiosyncratic voice of that specific character (like in Fanthorpe's poem), and be written in the 1st Person.

Your poems (and the lines therein) can be as LONG or as SHORT as you like.

Good luck, and have fun!

Mr Savage