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Essay: Exploring True Love in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 | Iambic Pentameter and More

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  • Subject area(s): Essay examples
  • Reading time: 5 minutes
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  • Published: 23 March 2023*
  • Last Modified: 22 July 2024
  • File format: Text
  • Words: 1,306 (approx)
  • Number of pages: 6 (approx)
  • Tags: Shakespeare's Poetry

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William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 forms part of his one hundred and fifty four sonnets published in 1609 and introduces the reader to the idea of true love. Shakespeare’s uses monosyllabic language throughout most of Sonnet 116 and in so doing succeeds in powerfully describing in simple basic language the delicacy and complexity of what true love is and what it is not. The iambic pentameter of a Shakespearean sonnet enables the reader to be influenced by the regulated beats and the rhyme scheme (ababcdcd) to be drawn into the view of the speaker’s perceptions on true love. Further to this the rhyming pattern for a Shakespearean sonnet, as opposed to a Petrarchan sonnet, lends itself well to the speaker’s ideas of true love; as each quatrain is independent. This frees the speaker to project their views onto the reader and allows the reader to explore their potentially preconceived ideas on love. Shakespeare uses metaphors to assist the reader in seeing this interpretation of true love. The speaker within Sonnet 116 believes true love to be eternal, a meeting of true minds, free from the world around them, will last even through ‘tempests’ (L6), be guided by a ‘star’ (L7) and even in death true love will ‘bear [it] out’ (L12). The concluding couplet ends with a statement that if what has been written in the previous twelve lines is proved wrong, then he has never written and no man has ever loved.

A Shakespearean sonnet has an iambic pentameter, although in Sonnet 116 Shakespeare opens it with a reversed iambic pentameter, a trochaic beat, and the stress is placed on the ‘Let,’ (L1) this allows the speaker to grab the attention of the reader and gives a meaningful message on love. The message given forms the bases of all that follows in the next fourteen lines. The speaker addresses that they believe that there is no reason why two like-minded people should not marry: ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments’. (L1/2) Shakespeare has used enjambment in the opening line, this carries the thoughts of marriage over to the following line; letting the reader into the idea that speaker is addressing love and this leaves an image of a wedding ceremony by using words of ‘marriage’ (L1) and ‘Admit impediments’ (L2). These words had been introduced via The Common Prayer Book 1559’ for wedding ceremonies. Shakespeare has used these words to open the reader’s mind to his belief on what marriage should be founded on, he has used a symbolic image to create a vision of the coming together of two minds.

Shakespeare has openly stated that marriage should be the joining of two ‘true minds’ (L1). It is essential to Sonnet 116 that the reader understands that Shakespeare sees the coming together of ‘true minds’ (L1) as a coming together not only of their physical beings but a unity of their intellects; a ‘true’ (L1) joining of two people where no ‘impediments’ (L2) will come between them, the true love they have is able to conquer any obstacle given. He continues onto line two where he declares ‘Love is not love’ (L2), this comes after a comma giving the effect of a caesura, this causes the reader to pause and reflect. Now the reader gets a view on what the coming together of two minds is not. ‘Love is not’ (L2) if it ‘alters when it alterations finds’ (L3), here the reader reflects backs and with the firm image of a wedding sees that if when the unity of two people is ‘true’ (L1) then even if something ‘alters’ (L3) then love between two ‘true mind[ed]’ (L1) people will not ‘alter[s]’(L3). Shakespeare continues this idea onto line four and deepens this thought to include ideas on even if love was to ‘bend with the remover to remove’ (L4), even if love deviates when a lover is unfaithful then true love will conquer. A bold statement to make but reflects back to the idea that the coming together of ‘true minds’ is more than the physical closeness, Shakespeare again is expressing that true love is deeper than that, it is unity of the whole being, it is the coming together of their spiritual minds, a joining of two people to unite together, a unity that last a life time and nothing can come between it, even an unfaithful lover.

Shakespeare has in this first quatrain spoken about what love is not. It does not ‘bend’, it does not ‘alter’ and it is never ‘removed’. Shakespeare uses polyptoton ‘remove…remover’ (L4) and ‘alters…alterations,’ (L3) this creates the effect of emphasising true love within this sonnet. However, by close reading the effect is deeper, it reflects that Shakespeare is describing that all love starts with the same roots, mirroring that these words all start with the same roots but these roots can be altered to achieve a differing ending, much like love. Shakespeare is arguing this by using polyptoton; that love that deviates from its roots, that was not a true coming together of minds means the ending differs. Shakespeare ends the first quatrain with these ideas firmly inside the minds of the reader.

The second quatrain speaks of what true love is and how true love can be tested. Shakespeare links the first quatrain to the second with a simple ‘O no!’ (L5), this successfully joins up his previous ideas and enables the reader again, through enjambment, to reflect on this. Metaphors are used to describe how true love can be tested and uses nature to form this argument, deviating from the marriage ceremony in the first quatrain. Firstly Shakespeare uses a reference to ‘an ever-fixed mark’, (L5) this indicates that love is ‘fixed’ (L5) it does not move. Shakespeare continues this onto the following line, by linking in an image of a storm, ‘tempests’, (L6) and adds that ‘[it] is never shaken’.(L6) Here the use of metaphor draws the reader to envisage relationships that are in the midst of a storm and how when relationships are based on true love, true love can conquer even ‘tempests’ (L6). Shakespeare adds to this image by using a metaphor of ‘It is the star to every wand’ring bark’, (L7) here linking the image of true love being a metaphorical ship lost in the midst of storm and that the ‘star’ (L7) is the ‘ever-fixed mark’, (L5) a reference to the North Star. This language opens the reader to see that true love is a constant and that even when the world around them is in chaos, true love in unfaltering and can guide them, like the stars guide sailors, true love can be tested by these ‘tempests’ (L6) and true love will always conquer.

The last quatrain is used to secure the message that has been given in the previous eight lines. Personification is used and ‘Time’ (L9) is given the human quality of being a ’fool’ (L9) giving the reader a message that even death would be foolish to think it can come between true love. Furthermore Shakespeare develops this idea that love last beyond death as he uses imagery to describe this: ‘though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle’s compass come;’ (L9-10) fixes an image of the ‘sickle’ (L10) of death coming to cut down the object of true love and the harsh c sound within line ten adds to this image. Nonetheless Shakespeare’s meaning of true love is able to conquer even death as again ‘Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks’, (L11) and further ‘bears out even to the edge of doom’ (L12). The true love Shakespeare has been referring to throughout Sonnet 116 still does not alter as the weeks pass by and it endures death and last beyond it.

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