Lecture Notes: Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 and Themes of Love

Introduction

• Presenter: Miss Hannah Love
• Subject: Examination of themes in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116.
• Context: Part of a collection of 154 sonnets dedicated to a mystery individual "W.H." possibly William Herbert.

Background on Shakespeare's Sonnets

• Written between 1592 and 1598.
• Sonnets 1-126: Addressed to a man, suggest an intense romantic relationship.
• Shakespeare's refinement of the Petrarchan Sonnet.
  • Petrarch's sonnet structure: Octave (problem) + Sestet (solution).
  • Shakespeare's structure: Three quatrains + a concluding couplet.
  • Both have a "turn": Line 9 (Petrarch) vs. Shakespeare's turn.

Sonnet 116 Analysis

• Opening Line: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments."

  • Metaphor for ideal true love.
  • Union between thoughtful, reflective individuals.

• Lines 2-3: Defining love by what it is not.

  • Repetition of "alter" and "alteration" to highlight love's constancy.
  • "Remove" and "remover" emphasize love's persistence.

• Line 4-5: Shift from negative to positive description.

  • "Ever-fixed mark": Central, constant love.

• Line 6: Violent imagery (tempests) further establishes love's unwavering nature.

• Lines 7-8: Love as a "North Star" for navigation and guidance.

  • "Whose worth's unknown" highlights mystery and depth.

• Line 9: Turning point.

  • Love defies "Time," which attempts to take youth ("Rosy lips and cheeks").

• Lines 10-12: Time's powerless against true love.

  • "Bending sickle" as a clichéd Grim Reaper image.
  • Love persists to the "edge of doom."

• Closing Couplet (Lines 13-14):

  • Tone becomes confrontational.
  • Challenges reader to prove love is not eternal.
  • Assertion: If love isn't eternal, then poetry and true love have never existed.

Conclusion

• Sonnet 116: Landmark of its time.
• Defines love as eternal, constant, and ideal.
• Promotes an intense commitment to love beyond infatuation, even to end times.