Analysis: Sonnet 116: (W.

Shakespeare)
Through this sonnet, Shakespeare tries to define what the phenomenon of Love
is all about, by first stating what it isnt, then asserting what it is.
He starts with rejecting the marriage done for logical and sensible reasons
stating that there are too many obstructions in the path of such relationships. He
then condemns the love which changes with the changing circumstances of life,
or ends with death, claiming that that isnt true love. Comparing it to the North
Star and using nautical terms, Shakespeare then designate love as a solid
constant remainder. He describes the intensity and ferocity of the emotion as
such that people who are in love do not back down from whatever challenges
and difficulties life throws at them, but face them with the resolution and
perseverance to overcome and conquer. Just as no one can guess how high
exactly the North Star is in the sky, yet everyone knows that it is very important
and useful, similarly can no man ever hope to put a monetary label on Love, but
there is none in this world who is unaware of its absolute beauty and power.
Shakespeare then emphasizes the everlasting quality of love saying that it isnt
something which time can play with, thus effectively casting all the other
emotions that one experiences in a frivolous light when compared with the
majesty of Love. Even though beauty does play a significant role in making
people fall in love, it isnt a temporary or brief passion which can die out or
change over a short period of time. Even if one fell in love with another because
of that persons physical beauty, if the love is pure, it will last far longer than said
beauty. Those lovers wont part even when they are old and their previous
youthful appearances have faded away, leaving them as husks of the people
they once were. Thus will Love last till the end of time, perpetual and eternal.
The end couplet poses a bold challenge from Shakespeare to any cynic who does
not believe in his words. He states that if anyone proves that what he has said
was wrong and that Love doesnt exist then it would be like saying that he,
William Shakespeare, master playwright and poet, had never in his life written a
word. Thus he is right about the existence of love as proof of his writing already
exists in the form of this sonnet, in which he poses this challenge.
As ever, Shakespeare makes use of numerous literary devices to drive home his
message. The first of these is alliteration which is immediately clear in the first
line itself: the repetition of the letter m and t in me not to the marriage of
true minds gives the line an internal rhythm. Love is personified several times
throughout the sonnet: it isnt something which can change or end, it is constant
and solid, it faces tempests and is never shaken. All these instances of
attributing the qualities of a person to a mere emotion, serve their purpose in
making the Bards message clear, that love is never ending. One also finds Time
to be personified Love is not Times fool. This description paints Time as a
puppeteer who plays around with everything, controlling everyone, and changing
things on a whim, which is a repeating idea in many of Shakespeares other
sonnets plays and poems. Yet love is set apart from the rest of all the emotions
that one feels: it is something which Time can exercise no right over, as it is
independent of all sorts of manipulations. Visual imagery is then evoked to
further emphasize this point and the picture of Old Keen Time shuffles on
wielding a huge sickle, yet Love continues to evade its grasp, appears in the
mind.
This sonnet is set apart by the rest of them because of the fact that it isnt about
the state of one in love, or how Love changes life, but rather it is a bold and
exemplary attempt to define Love itself. Such a broad emotion, which brings to
mind so many various unrefined things, can be outlined and set into words in
such a restricted, formal format; that of the Shakespearean sonnet is
commendable indeed. Yet the poem appeals to me not because of apt style,

nothing less could be expected from Shakespeare, but because of its intricate
content. In a series of comparisons does Shakespeare set the limitless
boundaries of love, first stating what it isnt: fickle and momentary; then
asserting what it is: resolute and everlasting.