Venus and Adonis is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare published in 1593, the same year that Christopher Marlowe published Hero and Leander. It is probably Shakespeare's first publication.
The poem tells the story of Venus, who is Goddess of Love, and her unrequited love for Adonis, an extremely handsome young man, who would rather go hunting. The poem is dramatic, pastoral, and at times erotic, comic, and tragic. It contains discourses on the nature of love, and many brilliantly described observations of nature.
