The poem "Sonnet 116" adheres to the traditional Shakespearean sonnet structure, consisting of three quatrains followed by a final rhymed couplet, which effectively allows the speaker to build a nuanced argument about the constancy of true love. This structured form emphasizes the weight of the assertions made, culminating in a decisive statement that defines love's enduring nature and challenges any counterarguments.
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-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken,
It is the star to every wandering 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
Use the poem to answer the question.
In 1-2 sentences, explain a conclusion that can be drawn about the poem based on its structure.
1 answer