Decoding Shakespeare : Sonnet 116
- Bhargav Sen Bhowmick
- Jul 26, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 26, 2024
Summary:
Author & Structure: William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is a classic example of Shakespearean sonnets, featuring three quatrains and a concluding rhyming couplet.
Meter: The sonnet uses iambic pentameter, also known as the Heartbeat meter, connecting the rhythm of the poem to the steady beat of the heart.
Theme: Sonnet 116 delves into the concept of true love, describing it as constant, unchanging, and unaffected by time or external challenges.
Metaphors: Shakespeare employs powerful metaphors, comparing love to an unyielding lighthouse and a guiding star, highlighting its enduring nature.
Ending: The final rhyming couplet challenges readers to disprove Shakespeare’s definition of true love, underscoring its permanence.
Relevance: Sonnet 116 remains relevant today, offering a timeless perspective on love and contrasting with modern interpretations that often reduce love to mere lust. It inspires readers to strive for genuine, unconditional love.
Introduction:
The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Mr. Shakespeare - the Bard of Avon was a most prolific author of his time. He crafted great plays and authored immaculate poetries and sonnets.
Shakespearean sonnets, or sonnets of the Victorian age were constructed out of three quatrains and one rhyming couplet. These fourteen liners are known for their intricately woven tapestries of words describing the innumerable complexities of life.
One such critical piece of literature written by William Shakespeare that intrigues me the most is Sonnet 116. This sonnet seeks to find out the true definition of love and what it entails.
The Sonnet :
Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments; love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 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.
William Shakespeare. "Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds" from SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS. London: G. Eld for T. T. and sold by William Aspley, 1609.
Source: SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS (1609)
Historical Context:
Shakespeare had written a total of 154 sonnets, which were published in a quarto in 1609. The sonnets have been triparted, dividing the sonnet sequence into three distinct cohorts: the Fair Youth sonnets (1-126), the Dark Lady sonnets (127-152), and the Greek sonnets (153-154). Critics believe that the Fair Youth sonnets (including Sonnet 116) were addressed to an unidentified young man. The poet in his sonnets presents the highest form of love which is eternal. This incited many to believe a romantic relationship between them.
The Poem in Detail:
The poem starts with negation, where it explains what true love is not. True love is the union of true minds, a melange of souls in which there is no room for obstacles. Shakespeare says that love does not change (alters), or bend under any circumstance. There is no putting a full stop to love.
The poet dramatically compares love to a lighthouse that stands undeterred in the face of adversities (tempests, storms), and guides the sailors through violent storms. He says, it is like the ever-fixed pole star which navigates the wandering boats (bark) through the right path. The height of such a star can be measured, though its value remains immeasurable just like the intensity of true love.
Shakespeare says that love is not fooled by the unpredictability of time. It is not influenced by short-lived, fleeting beauty (rosy lips and cheeks). Time is compared to Death's sickle, which cuts out youth, which comes full circle reaping away souls of your loved ones. True love is not the one that lasts only for brief hours or weeks, but it lasts for eternity (edge of doom). Unlike infatuation, love stays the same even after death.
The poet ends his poem on a very confident and affirmative note, almost like an open challenge where if whatever he has written is wrong and proved so, he never wrote (writ) and nobody ever loved truly.
Theme:
The theme of Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare is the steadfast and unchanging nature of true love. The sonnet emphasizes that true love remains constant and unshaken despite any challenges or changes. It is depicted as eternal, unalterable, and unaffected by time or circumstances. Shakespeare asserts that true love is a guiding star, unwavering and resilient, enduring beyond physical beauty and even beyond life itself.
Critical Appreciation:
After perusing the sonnet, it dawned on me that love is not one dimensional. It has multiple layers like an onion, which Mr. Shakespeare has meticulously unfolded. The sonnet has a notable progression wherein the first quatrain starts on a very formal-almost official-tone, negation is used affectively to tell us what love is not: it is not alterable.
There is a drastic contrast in the second quatrain which uses a more passionate, a more vulnerable tone-'O no! it is an ever-fixed mark'. This quatrain explains what love is: it is undeterred.
The third quatrain feels very earthbound with a mix of tangibility, it almost makes the concept of love so palpable. This quatrain highlights that love is eternal, above the mischiefs of Time and the sickle of Death. The rhyming couplet at the end reaffirms Shakespeare's idea of love and reiterates his point with certainty.
In today's world where love has been reduced to mere lust, this sonnet gives a fresh perspective at this concept.
Style:
This sonnet follows the classic three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet pattern. The rhyme scheme in this sonnet is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
It is written in iambic pentameter, which consists of five pairs of syllables per line, with each pair, or "foot," composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. This creates a rhythm that can be described as da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM. And for this reason it is also called the Heartbeat meter.
Literary Devices:
This sonnet uses a blend of metaphors and symbols to put forth its ideas. The metaphors used though, are standard and materialize cliched concepts like Time as a reaper or Love as the pole star. These often seem repetitive and fail to charm readers.
Ecphonesis: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark. Here the line starts on an exclamatory and dramatic note.
Alliteration: 1. remover to remove. 2. out even to the edge of doom.
Metaphor: Metaphors are highly used throughout the second quatrain. In the second quatrain love is represented as a lighthouse which stands undeterred and the pole star whose worth is immeasurable.
Personification: 1.That looks on tempests. Here, the lighthouse is personified, specifically it's quality of being a guiding beacon. 2. Love's not Times fool. The letters 'L' and 'T' are capitalized which shows the use of personification. Love is wise and strong and is immune to the vagaries of Time and is not not fooled by Time. Real love is timeless.
Symbolism: Within his bending sickle's compass come. Here, a sickle symbolizes Death.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare masterfully captures the essence of true love as unwavering and eternal. Through powerful metaphors and vivid imagery, Shakespeare illustrates that "Love is not a feeling, it is an ability,"[Hedges, Peter. (n.d)] (L. Kadam, personal communication, July 9, 2024) highlighting love's steadfastness and resilience against time and adversity. Shakespeare’s clever use of the Heartbeat meter connects the concept of heart and love with the structure of the sonnet. The rhyming couplet at the end symbolizes union, sort of reflecting 'coming together' of true lovers or the harmony of yin and yang. While some may think the ideal love Shakespeare describes is a mere pipe-dream, and it can be hard to find such love today, this idealism is what makes Sonnet 116 of perennial value. It encourages us to strive for true, unconditional love, reminding us of the timeless pursuit of a love that stays constant and unwavering.
Citations:
Raj, B. (n.d.). Rhapsody & Prism ISC A Collection of Poems & Short Stories Workbook. Evergreen Publications (INDIA) Limited.
AQA English Literature A-Level William Shakespeare: 'Sonnet 116'. (n.d.). PMT Education. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/English-Literature/A-level/Notes/AQA/Love-Through-the-Ages-Anthology/Sonnet%20116%20-%20William%20Shakespeare.pdf
Tavini, G. [GabriellaTavini]. (2020, Oct 19). Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare || A-Level Poetry Analysis [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://youtu.be/V8dSuq3Kvfo?si=q3jX9tXW1rhR8eB8
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