Sonnet 116

Shakespeare
Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration fins,
Or bends with the remover to remove
O no it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken
It is the star to every wand’ring bark
Whose worth unknown although height be taken
Loves not Times fool, though rosy lips and checks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom
If this be error and upon me proved
I never writ, nor no man ever loved
Poem dictionary

 Impediment- something that stops something or holds it up

 Bark- small ships with sails
 Sickle- a sharp, curved tool for cutting corn always used on pictures of old father time an
death
 Compass- reach
 Doom- doomsday: the very last day at the end of the worl d
What the poems about

 Shakespeare is writing about how constant true love is. It cant be shaken, even when
people change and get older- if it is true love then it stays just as powerful as ever
 If it really is genuine love, then it doesn’t change when circumstances change
 He says that if what he says isn’t true then he never wrote anything and no man has ever
been in love.
 Since we know he did write and men do love he is saying his words on love are true
Form structure and language

 Form- this is a sonnet. Sonnets were a popular form of poetry in Shakespeare's day and
they were often used for writing about love. The sonnet is made up off three quatrains ( a
group of four line poems) with a rhyming couplet at the end. The regular rhyme scheme
gives the poem a sense of order and completeness.
 structure- the quatrains all discuss the same idea of love being unchanging in the slightly
different ways and using different imagery. The final couplet is the narrators guarantee
that he is telling the truth
 Language about sailing- true love is shown to be reliable- it guides us in an uncertain and
stormy world
 Language about time and ageing- when we get older we look different, perhaps not as
attractive but true love isn’t tricked by t he effects of time- it remains the same. Love isn’t
at the mercy of time- has no end i
Feelings and attitudes in the poem

 Devotion- the voice in the poem is declaring a love which will not change
 Constancy- he sees love as fixed and eternal- something which wont change even when
the object of his love changes
 True love- its not a shallow, superficial love which is based on what the loved one looks like
Exploring the poem in more depth

 Has the traditional sonnet form.... 14 lines with a A,B,A,B,C,D,C,D,E,F,EF,G,G structure

 The last couplet follows the conventional structure..it asserts a revelation and conclusion
 The sonnet explores what is meant by love? Suggests that true love is constant it doesn't
change with time or circumstances.
 Love is enduring ...it is ”never shaken “ and an “ever-fixed mark”. “love alters not”... It
never changes. Shakespeare suggests love can conquer every extreme...it “bears it out
even to the edge of doom”. Love is a positive force
 The poem uses repeated pairs of words: “love is not love”, ”alters when it alterations finds”
“remover to remove”. Reflects the symbiosis of a loving couple
 Shakespeare also uses opposites and negatives (“loves not times fool”) to show what true
love isn’t
Exploring the poem in more depth

 Shakespeare explores the traditional idea of love and time being enemies. But his attitude
is positive....even if “rosy lips and cheeks” are challenged by times “sickle”, love will
remain. Love and time are personified here.
 Shakespeare explores the whole concept of love....not just one couples experience.
 The poems opening lines refer to Christian marriage ceremonies. Love is “the marriage of
true minds” and should be without “impediments”
 Metaphors- are based on nature: love “looks on tempests and is never shaken”....”is the
star to every wand’ring bark”. These show love to be an essential part of our natural world.
Perhaps the metaphor of the star is the most crucial..... It is timeless
Exploring the poem in more depth

 The poem ends with Shakespeare challenging us...”if this be error and upon me proved/ I
never writ nor no man ever loved”.... If he's wrong then he has never written and no man
has ever loved
 The sonnet could be contrasted with many poems Hour where time is a obstacle to love,
His coy mistress we should grab opportunities for love, because times running out, In paris
with you love does end