The definition of love provided by Sonnet 116 makes this poem one of the most cited and anthologized in the entire poetic canon. Shakespeare presents the reader with his conception of love in its most ideal form. The main idea put forth in 116 is that ideal love is constant and permanent; that it never alters, either with changing circumstances (first quatrain), difficulties (second quatrain) or with time (third quatrain). The final rhyming couplet makes a defensive challenge to any reader who might want to contest this view of love, and the poet stakes his own poetry as his wager that love is exactly as he has described it. In spite of Shakespeare’s challenge, some scholars - notably Carol Neely - have detected a gradual ‘deterioration’ throughout the course of the poem in the poet’s representation of ideal love, suggesting that the poet, deep down, has reservations about the enduring quality of love. It is this view which I seek to contest.
Table of Contents
1. Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Blemished love?
Objectives & Core Topics
This scholarly analysis examines the thematic constancy and rhetorical structure of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, specifically contesting critical interpretations that suggest a deteriorating view of love within the poem by highlighting the author's consistent use of absolute, categorical imagery and legalistic terminology.
- The influence of the Anglican Marriage Service as a structural and thematic foundation.
- Analysis of core metaphors including the "ever-fixed mark" (lighthouse) and the "north star."
- Evaluation of the poem’s rhythmic and linguistic construction in supporting an aura of unshakeable conviction.
- Debate regarding the "sinister" imagery (e.g., the "bending sickle") versus the poem's overwhelming narrative confidence.
- The synthesis of spiritual and earthly love within Shakespearean poetic tradition.
Excerpt from the Book
Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Blemished love?
The allusion is to the section from the service where the priest asks if anyone in the congregation is aware of a ‘just impediment’ which might prevent the two persons to be wed from being ‘joined together in holy matrimony’ (my emphases). From the outset, therefore, the poet seems to lend his approval to the sanctioning of true love through the institution of marriage. His allusion to this institution also provides a real and earthly context through which subsequently to examine the significance of love in more metaphorical and poetical guises - as, for example, an ‘ever-fixed mark’, a ‘star’, and ‘not Time’s fool’.
The poet continues by telling us what love is ‘not’, thereby seeming to stress the abstract and intangible nature of love. The heavy caesura in line 2 (after ‘impediments’) heightens the importance of this definition: Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.
Summary of Chapters
1. Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Blemished love?: This section provides an in-depth literary analysis of Sonnet 116, exploring how metaphor, imagery, and structural formality are used to define love as an immutable, constant force that defies time and external challenges.
Keywords
Shakespeare, Sonnet 116, True Love, Constancy, Marriage Service, Literary Analysis, Metaphor, North Star, Ever-fixed mark, Poetic Imagery, Iambic Pentameter, Idealism, Carol Neely, Helen Vendler, Literary Criticism
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this publication?
The publication is a critical literary analysis of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, focusing on how the poet constructs an image of ideal, enduring love.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
The study explores themes of constancy, time, the influence of religious and legal institutions on poetry, and the interpretation of visual metaphors like the lighthouse and the north star.
What is the author's central research objective?
The primary goal is to challenge the critical argument that the poem reflects a gradual "deterioration" of love, arguing instead that the tone remains confident, categorical, and unfailingly positive.
Which academic methods are employed?
The analysis utilizes close reading, linguistic analysis of word choice (monosyllables), structural examination of the sonnet's quatrains, and engagement with existing literary scholarship from critics like Helen Vendler and Carol Neely.
What core elements does the main body address?
The text examines the allusion to the Anglican Marriage Service, the significance of the poem's nautical imagery, the use of negations to separate love from time, and the rhetorical force of the concluding couplet.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Sonnet 116, constancy, ideal love, literary critique, nautical imagery, and rhetorical structure.
How does the author interpret the "bending sickle" metaphor?
The author interprets the "bending sickle" as imagery associated with death (the Grim Reaper) but argues that it is consciously set against the poet's definition of love, rather than merging with it, to emphasize love's defiance of mortality.
Why does the author emphasize the "legalistic" terminology in the poem?
The author highlights the legalistic language to demonstrate that the narrator adopts an authoritative, "constitutional" stance, suggesting that the speaker is "laying down the law" regarding the unwavering nature of true affection.
- Citar trabajo
- Professor Vivienne Suvini-Hand (Autor), 2022, Shakespeare's Sonnet 116: Blemished love?, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1278212
