Sonnet 116

By Katie Nice and Dougie Black

Summary/content

The sonnet is trying to define the meaning of love. It describes how true love can never be broken and that it never dies. Shakespeare also claims that love does not alter through time so love is eternal and doesn’t fade or disappear, even in old age. He also states at the end of the sonnet that if anyone were to prove him wrong he will take back all the words written in the sonnet as if they never existed, this proves that he is confident that love is ever lasting.

Language

The poem used repeated words “love is not love” and “remover to remove, this shows that the paired words are like love couples. Shakespeare also uses natural metaphors “looks on tempests and is never shaken.” this shows love as an essential part of life as are many things in nature. The first two lines show the Christian views on marriage and how they stress the idea of idea of love “the marriage of two minds” should be without barriers or obstacles, this could be interpreted as if love is true it should be without fault. There are ideas of love enduring throughout the sonnet “love alters not”

Imagery

From the beginning of the sonnet there is the idea of marriage present. However the marriage that Shakespeare describes is not a contract of marriage it is one of “true minds” suggesting a deep understanding of two equals. In the time of Shakespeare though women in a marriage weren’t equal to men, they were practically controlled by the men of the relationship so this sonnet doesn’t conform to the views of marriage in the time. The poems central metaphor is the one of love being presented as a star; specifically the north star as it never changes its position in the sky. The north star would guide sailors when they’re in open waters so this could therefore connote that love guides us through life.

Structure

The sonnet is consists of 14 lines, and is split into 3 stanzas with 4 lines each and a 2 line couplet. The poem follows a regular pattern and a conventional structure that a lot of older poetry writers followed, the poem ends with a turn and the mood of the poem is changed with it.

Meanings and Morals

The main message of this sonnet is that if love is true then it is ageless and priceless. This is shown by the fact that they refer to love being a star. Another main message of the sonnet is that marriage should be between two equals because if it is then it will last and love will form in unexpected ways. This gives a message to the people of the Shakespeare's time to marry an equal and not treat your wife as your property.

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