‘Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

‘Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds’

This revision guide to William Shakespeare’s poem ‘Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ from the Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology (part 3: unit 1, section B) includes:

• Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Form, structure and language: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choices that Shakespeare uses 

• Themes: a summary of the key themes and ideas in the poem

• Comparing poems: suggestions for anthology poems to compare ‘Sonnet 116’ to

Overview

To answer an essay question on a poem, you must understand what it is about. The overview section includes:

• A summary of the poem 

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Shakespeare’s intention and message

A summary of the poem ‘Sonnet 116’ 

‘Sonnet 116’ was written by William Shakespeare and published in 1609. It has become one of the most universally celebrated poems in the English language. The speaker describes true love as a strong and unbreakable commitment between two people. 

‘Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ analysis 

Lines 1–4

Translation

• The speaker begins by defining love by what it is not

Shakespeare’s intention

• The speaker of the poem declares that he will not “admit” (accept) any defects or “impediments” when discussing “the marriage of true minds”:

  • The beginning of the sonnet sounds like a vow or a declaration either to himself, to the beloved or more formally to others 

  • The use of the word impediment has echoes of the language a minister would use during a marriage ceremony and the caesura adds a meaningful pause for reflection

• The use of the word “marriage” could have two meanings:

  • It could mean a traditional union between two people

  • It could also be more metaphorical and refer to two people being dedicated to one another – the word “minds” suggests an intellectual or emotional connection

• The speaker distinguishes true love from infatuation or more fickle forms of love:

  • True love does not bend or change when challenged

• The speaker also uses polyptoton with the words “alter” and “alteration” in addition to “remover” and “remove”:

  • By doing this, Shakespeare suggests a love which bends or alters is not truly love

• The first four lines establish the rhyming pattern of the poem as ABAB and generally fall into iambic pentameter, a metre often used in love poetry:

  • However, the first line of the sonnet includes two stressed syllables at the end of the line

  • The disruption to the metre, in addition to the tight rhyme scheme, could suggest that love endures despite its challenges or obstacles

Lines 5–8

Translation

• In this quatrain, the speaker declares that love is strong and does not change in the face of metaphorical obstacles or challenges

Shakespeare’s intention

• In the first line, the speaker compares love to an “ever-fixéd mark” which implies something immoveable, unwavering and steadfast

• The use of the metaphor “tempests” suggests that life can be turbulent and unpredictable

• The use of evocative imagery extends to a lost ship, a “wandering bark”, guided through treacherous waters by love, now presented as a metaphorical guiding “star”: 

  • Historically, stars have been used to help people find their way home, as a guide for travellers 

• The speaker declares that the true worth of love is not known to everyone, “although his height be taken”:

  • This suggests that while it is possible to technically measure love, but only those who are truly in love know its worth 

Lines 9–12

Translation

• The speaker suggests that love does not alter with time

Shakespeare’s intention

• Shakespeare compares love to “rosy lips and cheeks” and implies that, while beauty may fade with time and age, love will not change

• By personifying Love overcoming Time (as a representative of death), Shakespeare suggests that love endures:

  • Time’s “bending sickle”, a symbol of the Grim Reaper’s scythe, may “come” but love “alters not”, even to the “edge of doom” (the death of the beloved) 

• The speaker suggests that love “bears it out” and endures the “hours and weeks”

Lines 13–14

Translation

• In the final couplet, the speaker declares that if they are wrong, then no one has ever truly loved

Shakespeare’s intention

• The hyperbole of this couplet serves to underline the intensity of the speaker’s feelings and can be seen as:  

  • A declaration of the strength and sincerity of their love (to convince their beloved)  

  • A universal statement of the nature of true love  

• The couplet is written in iambic pentameter:

  • This might reflect the speaker’s confidence or suggest that it has been carefully crafted to seem sincere and genuine

Form, structure and language

Always consider how Shakespeare presents his ideas and why he has made these choices – in what ways do form, structure and language contribute to the themes and messages in ‘Sonnet 116’? 

You will gain more marks if you focus on the poem’s themes than on individual poetic techniques. Therefore, the analysis in the following sections is arranged by theme, and examines the intentions behind the poet’s decisions in the following:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem is a classic sonnet form that Shakespeare popularised (now referred to as a Shakespearean sonnet). The poem is written in iambic pentameter with some lines having a feminine ending (an extra unstressed syllable at the end of the line).

Structure

The Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines; the first twelve lines can be divided into three quatrains and the final two lines make a rhyming couplet.

Language

‘Sonnet 116’ uses a range of language techniques to help the speaker express his thoughts about love.

Themes 

Understanding the themes of the poem can help you to write an informed, personal response.  

Even though context is not explicitly assessed in the poetry anthology exam question, it is also helpful to be aware of the historical and social context in which Shakespeare was writing to help you to express your own opinions and insights – referred to by examiners as a “sustained, critical understanding” of the text. 

To help you do this, we’ll consider the two main themes that Shakespeare explores in 'Sonnet 116':

• True love

• Change and endurance

True love

• It is generally thought that William Shakespeare wrote ‘Sonnet 116’ during the 1590s at a time of peace and prosperity during Elizabeth I’s reign:

  • During this time, poets and playwrights focused on themes to do with love rather than war or invasion

• The sonnet form had risen to popularity in the late 16th century and sonnets were conventionally written from the perspective of male speakers who were passionately in love:

  • The speakers are often on the edge of madness with love, which is typically unrequited

  • The sonnet form uses metaphors and hyperbolic language to emphasise the depth of the speaker’s love

• ‘Sonnet 116’ is similar in context but the speaker in Shakespeare’s poem is not concerned with unrequited love:

  • Instead, the poem describes love as a binding and everlasting force that does not alter or change over time

  • While the poem generally takes on traditional sonnet form and themes, love is presented as eternal and beautiful, not a source of pain or suffering   

• The speaker uses nautical metaphors to describe love’s power to endure, an “ever-fixéd mark/That looks on tempests and is never shaken”:

  • The use of nautical metaphors was popular during the Renaissance period and this imagery was used in sonnets to describe the speaker’s passion or pain when it came to matters of the heart

  • The speaker, therefore, is highlighting how love is a guiding force that can help lovers navigate “tempests” in “wandering barks” [ships] to safety

• The speaker also uses an astronomic metaphor of a star: 

  • The use of the star metaphor “whose worth’s unknown” links to Greek philosopher Plato’s view that everyone had a kindred star and that the highest type of love is beyond human comprehension

  • In ‘Sonnet 116’, the star elevates the idea of love by turning it into something that is beyond human reach

  • While human beings may feel it by taking in its “height”, they cannot fully comprehend its power or worth

• The final line of the poem not only reaffirms the speaker’s beliefs but also highlights their unwavering belief in their previous statements:

  • They do not believe that true love changes or alters over time and declare that, if they are incorrect, no one has ever truly loved 

  • However, their passionate beliefs could stem from naivety and a desire to impress the listener 

Change and endurance

• One of the speaker’s main arguments is that true love can overcome obstacles and remain unchanged 

• Love is personified with “rosy lips and cheeks” but Time is destructive, sinister and deathly, pursuing Love with “his bending sickle”, the Grim Reaper’s symbol of mortality: 

  • While death is inevitable, love will endure 

Comparing poems

In your exam, you will be required to compare two poems from the anthology. You must have a good knowledge of poetic form, content and meaning to compare the poems effectively. 

You need to explore links and connections between texts, which includes the poet’s use of language, form and structure. In ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare’s main ideas are centred around love and its constancy and endurance; therefore, the following comparisons would be a good starting point:

• ‘Sonnet 116’ and ‘My Last Duchess Ferrara’

• ‘Sonnet 116’ and ‘Remember’

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• Comparison summary 

• Similarities and differences between the ideas presented in each poem

• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

‘Sonnet 116’ and ‘My Last Duchess Ferrara’

Comparison summary:

Both poems deal with the idea of love. In ‘Sonnet 116’, the speaker states that love is eternal, too powerful to fade or change over time. However, in ‘My Last Duchess Ferrara’, love is presented as controlling, dangerous and inconstant.

Differences:

‘Sonnet 116’ and ‘Remember’

Comparison summary:

Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’, presents love as a force that can endure the passage of time, overcoming all barriers. However, in Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Remember’, the speaker is dying and fears that her loved one will not remember her after death, despite the depth of her love.

Similarities:

Differences: