Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (Sonnet 116) by William Shakespeare

Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (Sonnet 116) by William Shakespeare

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.

This sonnet is a powerful statement about the nature of true love. Let's break it down:

1. "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments."
• The speaker refuses to acknowledge any obstacles to the union of two people who are truly in love.
• "Marriage of true minds" suggests a deep, intellectual and spiritual connection, not just a physical one.
2. "Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds,"
• True love doesn't change when circumstances change.
• If love changes when it encounters changes, it's not real love.
3. "Or bends with the remover to remove."
• Genuine love doesn't weaken or disappear when someone tries to take it away.
• It stands firm against external pressures.
4. "O no, it is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken;"
• Love is compared to a lighthouse (an "ever-fixed mark") that stands strong against storms.
• It remains constant despite life's challenges.
5. "It is the star to every wandering bark, / Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."
• Love is like the North Star, guiding lost ships (wandering barks).
• Its true value can't be measured, even if its position can be calculated.
6. "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come;"
• Love isn't mocked or defeated by Time, even though Time affects physical beauty.
• The image of Time's "bending sickle" refers to the Grim Reaper's scythe.
7. "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom."
• True love doesn't change with the passing of time.
• It endures until the end of life, or even the end of the world ("edge of doom").
8. "If this be error, and upon me proved, / I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
• The speaker is so confident in this definition of love that he stakes his reputation on it.
• If he's wrong about love, then he's never written anything (denying his identity as a poet) and no one has ever truly loved.

This sonnet presents an idealized view of love as constant, unshakeable, and eternal. Shakespeare uses powerful imagery and strong statements to emphasize the enduring nature of true love in the face of time, change, and adversity. 

                                                               Grim Reaper's scythe    

                                                  a lighthouse (an "ever-fixed mark")

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 employs several literary devices to convey its powerful message about the nature of true love. Let's examine the key devices used:

1. Metaphor:
• Love is compared to an "ever-fixed mark" (like a lighthouse), suggesting stability and guidance.
• Love is likened to a star guiding ships, emphasizing its role as a constant, guiding force.
• Time is personified as a reaper with a "bending sickle," representing aging and death.
2. Personification:
• Love is given human qualities throughout the poem, being described as something that doesn't "alter" or "bend."
• Time is personified as having a "fool" and wielding a sickle.
3. Negation:
• The poem frequently defines love by what it is not, using phrases like "Love is not love," "Love's not Time's fool," and "Love alters not."
4. Hyperbole:
• The final couplet uses extreme exaggeration: "If this be error and upon me proved, / I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
5. Alliteration:
• "Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken" - repetition of the 'h' sound.
• "With his brief hours and weeks" - repetition of the 'w' sound.
6. Assonance:
• "Admit impediments" - repetition of the short 'i' sound.
• "Love's not Time's fool" - repetition of the long 'i' sound.
7. Imagery:
• Visual imagery of a lighthouse standing against storms, a guiding star, rosy cheeks, and Time's sickle.
8. Paradox:
• "Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken" - suggesting that love can be measured in some ways but its true value remains unknowable.
9. Enjambment:
• The thought often continues from one line to the next without punctuation, creating a flowing rhythm.
10. Rhyme Scheme:
• The poem follows the typical Shakespearean sonnet rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
11. Iambic Pentameter:
• Each line consists of five iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable), creating a rhythmic flow.
12. Anaphora:
• Repetition of "Love is not" and "Love alters not" at the beginning of lines for emphasis.

These devices work together to create a powerful, memorable exploration of the concept of true love, emphasizing its constancy and strength in the face of time and change.

NCERT Book Questions

The following two common words are used in a different sense in the poem. Guess what they mean:

bark compass

Different meanings of common words:

• "Bark" in this context likely refers to a ship or boat, not the sound a dog makes or tree covering.
• "Compass" here probably means range or scope, rather than a navigational instrument.

Understanding The Poem:

1. ‘Constancy’ is the theme of the poem. Indicate the words, phrases and images that suggest the theme.

Ans: Words, phrases, and images suggesting constancy:

• "ever-fixed mark"
• "never shaken"
• "Love alters not"
• "bears it out even to the edge of doom"

2.       Why do you think the poet has used so many ‘negatives’ to make his statement?

Ans: The poet uses many negatives to emphasize what true love is not, thereby defining it by contrast. This technique strengthens his argument about what love truly is.

3. What does the line ‘I never writ, nor no man ever loved’ imply?

Ans: "I never writ, nor no man ever loved" implies that if the poet is wrong about love, then he has never written anything (which we know is false), and no man has ever truly loved. It's a strong rhetorical device to assert the truth of his statements.

4. Love is presented as the subject or doer of actions in the poem. Why do you think the poet has used this form rather than involving human agents?

Ans: Personifying love as the subject or doer of actions universalizes the concept. It removes individual human variables and presents love as a universal, abstract force.

5. Explain the phrases

a. his bending sickle’s compass

b. Time’s fool

Ans: a. "his bending sickle's compass" refers to Time's scythe (often depicted as carried by the Grim Reaper), suggesting the passage of time and aging.

b. "Time's fool" means something that is tricked or controlled by time.

Try This Out:

This poem is a Shakespearean sonnet.

1.       What do you understand by a sonnet?

A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter. Shakespearean sonnets typically have three quatrains (4-line stanzas) and a concluding couplet, with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

2. Look at some other sonnets and notice the variations in the structure of the sonnet that are possible.

              To explore variations in sonnet structure, you might look at:

a.       Petrarchan sonnets (octave + sestet structure)

b.       Spenserian sonnets (linking rhyme scheme)

c.       Modern sonnets that play with traditional forms