Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
1. Let me not to the marriage of true minds A
2. Admit impediments; love is not love B
3. Which alters when it alteration finds, A
4. Or bends with the remover to remove. B
5. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark C
6. That looks on tempests and is never shaken; D
7. It is the star to every wand'ring bark C
8. Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.D
9. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks E
10. Within his bending sickle's compass come. F
11. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, E
12. But bears it out even to the edge of doom: F
13. If this be error and upon me proved, G
14. I never writ, nor no man ever loved.G
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45106/sonnet-116-let-me-not-to-the-
marriage-of-true-minds
Notes.
● Sonnet
○ Formal features
○ Octave / sestet: Is there a shift between the two parts of the
poem?
, ○ Analyse rhyme scheme
■ Embodies the Shakespearean sonnet
■ Final rhyming couplet tends to summarise and represent
the whole poem.
○ Iambic pentameter
■ Typical of Shakespearean sonnets
■ Referred to the ‘beating heart of Shakespearean poetry’
because its rhythm suggests natural speech but also the
heartbeat of true feeling.
● Iambic pentameter: 5 feet of 2 syllables each
(unstressed / STRESSED)
● The message
○ Questions and attempts to define true love
■ Reaches the conclusion that true love is not about wanting
to change someone, and will not fade with time. It is sturdy
and dependable. The speaker (aka. The persona)
challenges the reader/the world, saying that if he is wrong
he has never loved anyone. If love changes when
situations change, it was never true love.
■ Love is constant, even in times of challenge. This idea of
challenge is more prominent in the sestet.
■ Theme of time/death and the destruction of passing time /
growing old.
○ Contrast how Shakespeare defines what love is versus what it is
not.
■ Both threads are found in both the octave and the sestet
● "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments..."
○ The metaphor of marriage ties love and connection to
intellectualism and shared thought.
1. Let me not to the marriage of true minds A
2. Admit impediments; love is not love B
3. Which alters when it alteration finds, A
4. Or bends with the remover to remove. B
5. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark C
6. That looks on tempests and is never shaken; D
7. It is the star to every wand'ring bark C
8. Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.D
9. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks E
10. Within his bending sickle's compass come. F
11. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, E
12. But bears it out even to the edge of doom: F
13. If this be error and upon me proved, G
14. I never writ, nor no man ever loved.G
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45106/sonnet-116-let-me-not-to-the-
marriage-of-true-minds
Notes.
● Sonnet
○ Formal features
○ Octave / sestet: Is there a shift between the two parts of the
poem?
, ○ Analyse rhyme scheme
■ Embodies the Shakespearean sonnet
■ Final rhyming couplet tends to summarise and represent
the whole poem.
○ Iambic pentameter
■ Typical of Shakespearean sonnets
■ Referred to the ‘beating heart of Shakespearean poetry’
because its rhythm suggests natural speech but also the
heartbeat of true feeling.
● Iambic pentameter: 5 feet of 2 syllables each
(unstressed / STRESSED)
● The message
○ Questions and attempts to define true love
■ Reaches the conclusion that true love is not about wanting
to change someone, and will not fade with time. It is sturdy
and dependable. The speaker (aka. The persona)
challenges the reader/the world, saying that if he is wrong
he has never loved anyone. If love changes when
situations change, it was never true love.
■ Love is constant, even in times of challenge. This idea of
challenge is more prominent in the sestet.
■ Theme of time/death and the destruction of passing time /
growing old.
○ Contrast how Shakespeare defines what love is versus what it is
not.
■ Both threads are found in both the octave and the sestet
● "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments..."
○ The metaphor of marriage ties love and connection to
intellectualism and shared thought.
