In short, Venus and Adonis describes the unrequited infatuation of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, for Adonis, a somewhat self-absorbed golden boy. All he wants to do is get on with his hunt, but Venus pursues him regardless. She pulls him off his horse, kisses him all over, and aggressively chases him over hill and dale until the hunter has become the prey. “No, lady, no; my heart longs not to groan, / But soundly sleeps while now it sleeps alone,” he says. He returns to his hunt and gets killed by a wild boar. In her grief, Venus cries out, placing a curse on love for all eternity:

She turns Adonis into a purple and white flower and vows to wear this nosegay “day and night.”