Love That Always Is
They say true love is hard to find, but maybe that is because people are trying too hard to find it. William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116" is a great explanation about the thoughts and meanings behind everyone's question. What is true love, and how can one fall in love when they are unsure of what true love really means?
Shakespeare shows love from both sides of the spectrum. He tries to explain that love is a constant factor that does not change. Although time and people change, Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116" conveys the idea that love withstands change regardless of the factors around it.This opening sentence of the poem sets the reoccurring theme of finding love and the coming together of two people. The words "[l]et me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments" (lines 1-2) shows that true love cannot be interrupted or hindered. In today's society, one sees and hears about so many marriages that do not last.
The divorce rate is continually growing and many people are marrying for the wrong reasons. The point that Shakespeare was trying to portray in this first sentence is that we cannot allow anything to get in the way of the marriage or even the coming together of two people. Shakespeare continues the poem by talking about a love that changes or alters is not a true love. ¨Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove," (lines 2,3,4). We may think that we love someone, but if we have doubts or concerns then are we really in love or is it just a false premonition.The line "O no! it is an ever-fixed mark"(line 5) in the sonnet is very important because it seems so certain, so final. Shakespeare's words seem immune to argument because of the nature of his wording.
The definiteness helps draw out emotions from the reader. The expressions and feelings come alive to the audience as they read it, and allows them to stop and think about how they feel about their own search for love. Anais Nin, a French novelist, once said "[y]ou don't find love, it finds you.
It's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars." Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116" seems to agree with her point about love being "fate" in the sense that it is a known commodity. While fate means that something is destined to happen, Shakespeare's love must also happen. In the beginning of this essay, it was written that most people search hard and long for love because they are worried about not ever finding it, but love is out there and when one stops searching that is when they will find it.The next part of the poem discusses how love is the light that brightens the bad times. The "light" sentiment is expressed when he writes "[i]t is the star to every wandering bark" (line 7).
Not every situation in life is going to be good but the loves in one's life, whether it be a person or something else, will influence one's feelings. Shakespeare seems to realize that love does not necessarily mean the love between people. Love can come from anywhere or between anything.The next section of the poem that has a significant meaning is"Love's not Time's fool, through rosy lips and cheeksWithin his bending sickles compass come:Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,But bears it out even to the edge of doom" (lines 9-12).This third quatrain talks about how love is timeless and no matter how long one waits, one will find love. Love does not change with time; true love is always true love. Someone once said to me that if you love someone let them go and if they come back then it was meant to be.
This saying is so true and it ties in well with my understanding of this sonnet. True love also exists through the bad times. This relates back to me and my love and passion for the game of tennis.
I do not win all my matches but just because of those bad times does not mean I do not still love the game.The poem's heroic couplet ending states,"If this be error and upon me proved,I never writ, nor no man ever loved" (lines 13-14).In this phrase, Shakespeare is stating that if he finds out that what he has been saying and how he feels about love is false then he will speak no more about it. He very spirit would be shattered by finding out the concept of love is false He will believe that no one can fall in love, but this will happen if, and only if, someone can prove that this is not true. If it were to come to past that any love could be stopped, destroyed, or altered, Shakespeare believed that all love would cease to exist. Shakespeare seems to be saying that without love, there is no life.According to author Lee Jamieson, a sonnet is a simple poem written in strict poetic form that was very popular during his lime time because of the specific format.
In fact, the form he uses has often been referred to as the Shakespearean sonnet in honor of the way he has used it. The reader can identify those characteristics in the poem because it has fourteen lines and all sonnets have fourteen lines, and it is also broken down into four sections which are called quatrains. This poem also has a strict rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of this sonnet, as well as all of Shakespeare's sonnets, is:SESE KNKN SESN DDABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GGThe first quatrain in a sonnet should establish the rhyme sequence for the rest of the sonnet.
There are three quatrains that have the same rhyme sequences with different actual rhymes in iambic pentameter. Those quatrains are followed by a heroic couplet, which consists of two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter. While the Shakespearean sonnet is a little less complex than the Petrarchan sonnet, it has become the most well known, mainly due to Shakespeare's mastery over it.The poem is a lyric because the speaker is expressing his thoughts or feelings on love without being tied to a narrative. Shakespeare is not specifically talking about or dedicating his poem towards one person nor is he telling us a story about a relationship or anything similar. His purpose is not to portray thoughts on his own relationship.
He is purely expressing feelings and thoughts about a passionate topic. These may not even be his own feelings about love; he could just be writing about things he has heard or seen. Shakespeare does a good job of distancing himself from the subject matter.Shakespeare seems to have given a lot of thought to the idea of a timeless, unstoppable love. Whether or not he is drawing from his own experiences is irrelevant because of how he presents his argument.
He shows that love is a, or maybe even the, driving force throughout all of humanity. Every human, no matter their background, has experience some type of love. The love could between anything. That includes humans, a pet, or even an athletic team. This love that Shakespeare writes about is what spawns passion and, in turn, creativity.
Without the idea of love, loving, or being loved, there is no happiness.
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