Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (William Shakespeare) Notes and explanations

Sonnet 116

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 wand'ring 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 prov'd,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

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About the poet

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a poet and dramatist who lived during the golden period of English literature.

The sonnet "Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds" is part of his collection of sonnets. He wrote 154 sonnets in total and are divided into two. Sonnets 1-126 are addressed to a young man. Sonnets 127-154 are addressed to a dark lady.

Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. The poet praises the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding.

The first four lines reveal the poet's pleasure in love that is constant and strong, and will not "alter when it alteration finds." The following lines proclaim that true love is indeed an "ever-fix'd mark" which will survive any crisis.

In lines 7-8, the poet claims that we may be able to measure love to some degree, but this does not mean we fully understand it. Love's actual worth cannot be known – it remains a mystery. The remaining lines of the third quatrain (9-12), reaffirm the perfect nature of love that is unshakeable throughout time and remains so "ev'n to the edge of doom", or death.

In the final couplet, the poet declares that, if he is mistaken about the constant, unmovable nature of perfect love, then he must take back all his writings on love, truth, and faith. Moreover, he adds that, if he has in fact judged love inappropriately, no man has ever really loved, in the ideal sense that the poet professes.

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                                                                            NOTES

Exercise B 

1)     The poet has throughout in the poem, told us what love is not. Do you agree with his profound description of love? Express your opinions.

 Ans: The poem ‘Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds’ written by William Shakespeare is about love in its most ideal form. The sonnet is one of the most powerful celebrations of true love which remains constant and is never shaken.

    The poet throws light on the nature of true love which remains unchanged and is unalterable. The poet says that ‘love is not love’ if it changes with the passage of time or under different circumstances.

     Shakespeare also says that love is not at the mercy of time. Love does not pander to the will of time although physical appearance might change with the passage of time. True love remains unchanged in the face of such decay. It does not alter ‘with his brief hours and week/But bears it out even to the edge of doom.’

 

 

2)     How has the poet described love with reference to the concept of time?

 

Ans: The poem ‘Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds’ written by William Shakespeare is about love in its most ideal form. The sonnet is one of the most powerful celebrations of true love which remains constant and is never shaken.

     The poet says that love is not at the mercy of time although time is a great destroyer. Love does not pander to the will of time although physical appearance might change with the passage of time. It is immortal and beyond the destruction of the scythe of time and remains unchanged till death and beyond.

     Shakespeare further substantiates his point by stating that ‘love is not love’ if it changes with the passage of time or under different circumstances. True love is ageless and priceless.

 

3)     How is the central idea of the poem presented through different images?

 

Ans: The poem ‘Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds’ written by William Shakespeare is about love in its most ideal form. The sonnet is one of the most powerful celebrations of true love which remains constant and is never shaken.

 

William Shakespeare uses a number of images to support his viewpoint about true love.

a)     A fixed-mark like a lighthouse that remains unshaken by the storm.

b)     The North Star that guides the sailing ships.

c)     A human being whose physical appearance is changed by the passing of time.

d)     Time, as an old man bearing a scythe who destroys physical beauty and takes our life.

 

 

 

Extra questions

1)     Discuss the poetic devices used in the poem.

Ans:

First, the Shakespearean Sonnet rhyme scheme is used. It is the abab cdcd efef gg structure.

 

Metaphor: The North Star is used as a metaphor to describe the nature of true love. Like the North Star which guides sailing ships, love also guides humans through life.

 

The poem is written in the form of iambic pentameter—a poem consisting of ten syllables in each line with unstressed and stressed syllables.

 

Personification: The poet has personified time. Time is like a reaper with sickle in his hand cutting the harvest of human beings with his sickle. 

Some important questdoom.

How long does love last according to the poet?

Love is unending. It is not susceptible to time.

Explain the various metaphors used by the poet in the poem.

Why does the poet give more emphasis to the minds than to the hearts?

Discuss the ideals of love as described by the poet.

What is the significance of the couplet in the poem?

Explain the structure of the poem.

Explain the rhyme scheme used in the poem.

Explain the expression "edge of doom."

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Explain William Shakespeare's idea of true love in the poem.

How is the central idea of the poem presented through different images?