SONNET 116
William Shakespeare
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ABOUT THE POET:
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, now widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language and the world’s pre-eminent (most excellent) dramatist.He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard (poet) of Avon” (or simply “The Bard”).His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.
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ABOUT THE POEM
Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. Shakespeare in this sonnet praises the glories of lovers. These lovers have come to each other freely. Their relationship is founded on mutual understanding and trust. While talking about the nature of ideal love, the poet also talks about the problems that a lover or love faces.
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SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION
The first four lines of the poem reveal (expose,make public ,disclose) the poet’s pleasure in love that is constant (steady,stable) and strong.The poet says that there is not any reason why the two true-minded lovers should not be married.According to the poet that love cannot be called love which changes in the circumstances (situation, condition).
LOVE IS NOT LOVE
WICH ALTERS WHEN IT ALTERATION FINDS,
In other words, true love always supports the partner in difficulties and stands by the partner to support him. In adverse (Unpleasant, bad, difficult ) situation also, true love does not change its attitude . It also does not bend (Curve, turn, twist, bow) from its firm (Solid, Hard) stand(Place) even if the lover is unfaithful to him. The poet wants to say true love is always faithful even if the partner proves unfaithful. The poet compares true love with a lighthouse. The way a lighthouse sees the storm but it is not shaken(upset). Similarly, love may face many storms in life but remains firm. The following lines state that true love is indeed an “ever-fixed mark” which will survive (Stay Alive) any crisis (disaster, Emergency).
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests (storm, thunderstorm) and is never shaken;
Talking about one more quality of true love the poet compares it with the North Star that guides every lost ship. A navigator (guide, pilot, direction-finder) may direct his course by its height above sea level, but complete knowledge of its values and potentialities (possibilities) is impossible. Similarly, true love can guide a person on the path of life. However, if a person tries to calculate the value he cannot do so. In lines 7-8,the poet claims (say, argue) that we may be able to measure love to some degree, but this does not mean that we fully understand it. Love’s actual worth cannot be known -it remains a mystery (ambiguity).
Shakespeare further says that love has nothing do with time. It is not at mercy (pity, kindness, sympathy) of time. The effect of time is there on our life but love cannot be affected by time.The poet wants to say that there is the effect of time on physical beauty but physical beauty has nothing to do with love. True love is above such attraction. Time can mow (cut down, trim, clip) or cut a man’s life, his looks, his possessions etc but not love. Thus, true love cannot be affected by time.
In the remaining lines of the third quatrain (9-12), the poet reaffirms (repeat, say again) the perfect nature of love. He states that it is unshakeable throughout time and remains so “even to the edge (border) of doom (fate, destiny)”, or death.
Love alters (change, adjust) not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears (stand, tolerate) it out even to the edge of doom.
In the final couplet, the poet asserts that if he is wrong about the steadfast and unchanging nature of perfect love, he must retract all his writings on love, truth, and faith. Moreover, he adds
that, if he has in fact judged love inappropriately (improperly, incorrectly, wrongly), no man has ever really loved, in the ideal sense that the poet recognizes.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
OTHER DETAILS
The details of Sonnet 116 are best described by Tucker Brooke in his highly praised edition of Shakespeare’s poems (Brooke 234). He says;
In Sonnet 116, the main pause in meaning occurs after the twelfth line. Seventy-five percent of the words are monosyllabic, and only three words have more than two syllables.
The poet has used one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language and the two simplest rhyme schemes to create a poem that contains no oddities or peculiarities, except the strangeness of its perfection.