'Sonnet 116'

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at William Shakespeare's famous work, 'Sonnet 116'. According to the paper, 'Sonnet 116' makes for an engaging study on the poetic capabilities of the early modern English language, especially Shakespeare's use of grammar and diction.

From the Paper:

"William Shakespeare's sonnet 116, just one of many poetic masterpieces, begins: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments." Sonnet 116 is a sonnet detailing the permanence of true love. The speaker, in quatrain one, details what the "marriage of true minds" (i.e. true love) is not--it does not alter, it does not allow itself to be removed. The second quatrain reveals true love further by telling us what it is--an ever-fixed mark that is never shaken, or, metaphorically, a star that serves as a permanent guide to wandering ships. Quatrain three then returns again to what love is and does not--true love is not "Time's fool," it does not succumb to time (though beauty fades) but stands stubbornly until Judgment Day ("the edge of doom"). The speaker, finally, in the couplet at the end, declares his final position. He dares someone to prove him wrong, betting that if he or she is wrong that no one has ever really loved and he or she had never written at all--a useful contrary that guarantees his version of "true love" will always be true. Written during the early Modern English era, sonnet 116 makes for an engaging study on the poetic capabilities of the early Modern English language, especially Shakespeare's use of grammar and diction."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Vendler, Helen. "Sonnet 116." The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.

More papers on 'Sonnet 116':

• Analytical Essay # 71084 : "Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116"
• Poem Review # 32229 : "Shakespeare's Sonnet 116"
• Analytical Essay # 67477 : "William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116"

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