Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds - William Shakespeare
STRUCTURE/FORM
- A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line
- Sonnet 116 makes use of an alternating rhyme scheme with a rhyming couplet to end
KEY QUOTATIONS
- âLet me notâ, âI never writ nor no man ever lovedâ: use of negative
- âtrue mindsâ: refers to a faithful marriage
- âlove is not love / Which⊠â: love is such a complex force that it can only be defined by what it is not
- âever fixed markâ: refers to north star, cosmic imagery, oceanic imagery (used by sailors for navigation)
- âtempestsâ: a term for violent storms
- âIt is the starâ: cosmic imagery
- âWhose worth unknownâ: personifies love, love is priceless
- âsickleâs compass comeâ: sickle means scythe, grim reaper, death, alliteration, reference to navigation
- âTimeâs foolâ, âhours and weeksâ, âdoomâ: focus on time