Sonnet-116 Poem Questions and Answers & Summary

Poem 3 Sonnet-116 Questions and Answers

Sonnet-116 Poem Summary, Questions and Answers

Sonnet-116 Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Attempt a critical appreciation of Sonnet 116.
Answer:
Sonnet 116 is a well known poem in the entire sequence. The definition of love which Shakespeare forwards in this sonnet has become a yardstick of what true love means. Love can be labelled as true only when it shows the power to overcome every “impediment” that comes in its way.

True love however is constant, immortal and continues to exist even when physical beauty falls prey to time’s sickle. Such conviction goads the bard to compose the poem and glorify true love. The poem opens with the speaker disapproving any sort of interference amidst true love.

True love conquers all barriers which come on its way and remains loyal and committed forever. Love ceases to become true if it changes with the change of time or with the change in the loved one. The storms of life can never influence true love all because of its firmness.

This idea is further consolidated with the image of a pole star which never changes its position in the night sky. In fact, pole star is an “ever fixed mark” which cannot be “shaken” even by violent tempest. The reference to tempest is significant in the sense that it represents the blows of life, the “impediments” which tends to threat the lovers ionging to unite all because of their “true minds”.

Real love thus, stands the test of time and guides the course of life just like the pole star guiding a lost ship in the uncharted ocean. In this sense, the value of true love is inestimable like the pole star whose altitude can be determined but, its worth remains immeasurable.

In the third quatrain, the speaker personifies time as a Grim Reaper dressed in long robe and carrying a sickle. Just as a reaper reaps crops with his sickle, time destroys the lustrous beauty of a person. The rosy lips and cheeks thus, come within time’s blow but true love endures because it is transcendental. True love does not change with hours and weeks.

Instead, continues remaining loyal and devoted till the dreadful day of judgment. If such conviction proves to be wrong, the poet says that he would not have written a single word and people wouldn’t have been in love.

As regard to its form, Sonnet 116 is written strictly in accordance with the structure maintained in other sonnets of Shakespeare. There are indeed three quatrains and a couplet which ends the sonnet. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg.

Question 2.
“Sonnet 116 bristles with various images.” Discuss with close reference to the poem.
Answer:
Imagery is a common term of variable meaning, which includes the “mental pictures” that readers experience within a passage of literature. It signifies all the sensory perceptions referred to in a poem, whether by literal description, allusion, simile, or metaphor.

Imagery however is not limited to visual imagery; it also includes auditory (sound), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell)’, and gustatory (taste) sensation. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, bristles with various images which collectively establishes the poet’s belief that true love does not come in the range of time’s sickle.

To begin with, the poem opens with a declaration that true love has the magical power to conquer all barriers which come on its way and still remains loyal and committed forever. Love ceases to become true if it changes with the change of time or with the change in the loved one. In fact, real love continues to survive amidst all odds and is always steady and firm.

The storms of life can never influence true love all because of its firmness. This idea is further consolidated with the image of a pole star which never changes its position in the night sky. In fact, pole star is an “ever fixed mark” which cannot be “shaken” even by violent tempest.

The reference to tempest is significant in the sense that it represents the blows of life, the “impediments” which tends to threat the lovers longing to unite all because of their “true minds”. But, real love successfully stands the test of time and guides the course of life just like the pole star guiding a lost ship in the uncharted ocean. In this sense, the value of true love is inestimable like the pole star whose altitude can be determined but, its worth remains immeasurable.

However, in the third quatrain, time is personified as a Grim Reaper, in long robe, carrying a sickle. The image however is drawn from the traditional myth of Cronus a harvest god, in long robes, bearing a scythe. Just as a reaper reaps crops with his sickle, time destroys the lustrous beauty of a person.

The rosy lips and cheeks thus, come within time’s blow but true Jove endures because it is transcendental. True love does not change with hours and weeks. Instead, continues remaining loyal and devoted till the dreadful day of judgment. If such conviction proves to be wrong, the poet would not have written a single word. Even people wouldn’t have been in love if true love isn’t what the poet claims it to be.

Sonnet-116 Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
Provide a succinct description of the factors that determine that “love is not love”.
Answer:
Sonnet 116 presents a catalogue of factors which determines whether love is true or fake. In the first quatrain, it is made clear what love is not. For example, true love endures every impediment on its way and yet continues to exist triumphantly.

In other words, true love conquers all obstacles that stand in its way and remains consistently stable and Firm. Love ceases to become true if it changes with the change of time. Even if there is a significant change in the loved one should not give up.

After all real love doesn’t disappear even when the loved one remove affection. Real love continues to survive amidst all odds and is always steady and firm. The storms of life can never influence true love all because of its firmness. Moreover, it no longer qualifies as true love which changes with hours and weeks. Time has no influence over it.

Hence, true love continues to remain loyal and devoted till the” dreadful day of judgment. Shakespeare however is too specific about what true love isn’t which establishes his high regard for love. In a way, it is only love for love’s sake that he considers as true love in his sonnet.

Question 2.
Provide a succinct description of the factors that determine true love.
Answer:
Sonnet 116 presents a catalogue of factors that determines whether love is true or fake. True love however endures all impediments which come on its way and yet continues to exist triumphantly. In other words, true love conquers all obstacles that stand in its way and remains consistently stable and firm.

The v storms of life can never influence true love all because of its constancy. Shakespeare further strengthens this idea with the image of a pole star. Just which never changes its position in the night sky. In fact, pole star is an “ever-fixed mark” which cannot be “shaken” even by violent tempest.

The reference to tempest is significant in the sense that it represents the blows of life, the “impediments” which tends to threat the lovers longing to unite all because of their “true minds”. But, real love successfully stands the test of time and guides the course of life just like the pole star guiding a lost ship in the uncharted ocean. In this sense, the value of true love is inestimable like the pole star whose altitude can be determined but, its worth remains immeasurable.

Question 3.
Describe the concept of time and love in Sonnet 116.
Answer:
Almost all of Shakespeare’s sonnets are depressively obsessed with the triumph of love over time. True love as the bard views is ageless since it exists outside the realm of time. Love can only be considered real if every obstacle can be fought triumphantly. Shakespeare openly condemns love which yields to time. This is evident when he Claims that love is “not Time’s fool”.

Time has no influence over love. Though “rosy lips and cheeks” symbolizing the boisterous youth of a lady, falls prey to time’s sickle, yet love continues to exist as it has nothing to do with physical beauty. True love however is transcendental. It is after all the attachment of mind which matters instead of physical attachment. Hence, true love is ageless.

It does not change with hours and weeks. Instead, remains loyal and devoted till the dreadful day of judgment. The poet however is so convinced about what true love is that he says that he would not have written a single word in favour of love; nor people would have been in love: “If this be error and upon me prov’d, / I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.”

Sonnet-116 Poem Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Question 1.
When marriage is not a barrier?
a. When partners are affluent
b. When partners are physically intimate
c. When partners are mentally attached
d. When the partners are willing to get married
Answer:
c. When partners are mentally attached

Question 2.
Which among the following statement is true?
a. Love is true when lovers changes with time
b. Love endures all impediments and yet remains steady
c. True love is nothing but a myth
d. Love vanishes with blows of life
Answer:
b. Love endures all impediments and yet remains steady

Question 3.
True love is like pole star because
a. Pole star changes its position
b. Pole star is shaken by tempest
c. Pole star remains fixed in one particular position
d. Pole star misleads a directionless ship
Answer:
c. Pole star remains fixed in one particular position

Question 4.
What is meant by star to every wandering bark?
a. A star misleads a directionless ship
b. A star is followed by ship
c. Pole star aids a directionless ship to find its way
d. A wandering ship guides a star
Answer:
c. Pole star aids a directionless ship to find its way

Question 5.
Time is fancied as a ………. in the poem
a. Gleaner
b. Cobbler
c. Blacksmith
d. Reaper
Answer:
d. Reaper

Question 6.
What is immeasurable of a pole star?
a. Altitude
b. Worth
c. Size
d. Position
Answer:
b. Worth

Question 7.
What actually is time’s fool?
a. Love
b. True mind
c. Physical beauty
d. None of the above
Answer:
c. Physical beauty

Question 8.
What isn’t time’s fool?
a. Rosy lips and cheeks
b. Mind
c. True love
d. None of the above
Answer:
c. True love

Question 9.
If love is not about true mind the poet would not have……….
a. Fallen in love
b. Written a word about it
c. Encouraged people to fall in love
d. Asked people to marry
Answer:
b. Written a word about it

Question 10.
People still fall in love since
a. They want to marry
b. They can’t stay alone
c. True love exist
d. It is a beautiful experience
Answer:
c. True love exist

Sonnet-116 Poem Summary

Sonnet-116 Poem Introduction

Sonnet 116 is a well known poem in the entire sequence. The definition of love which Shakespeare forwards in this sonnet has become a yardstick of what true love means. Love can be labelled as true only when it shows the power to overcome every “impediment” that comes in its way.

True love however is constant, immortal and continues to exist even when physical beauty falls prey to time’s sickle. Such conviction goads the bard to compose the poem and glorify true love.

Sonnet-116 Poem Summary

The speaker disapproves any sort of interference amidst true love. After all, pure love conquers all barriers which come on its way and still remains loyal and committed forever. Love ceases to become true if it changes with the change of time or with the change in the loved one. In other words, real love doesn’t disappear even when the loved one removes affection.

Real love continues to survive amidst all odds and is always steady and firm. The storms of life can never influence true love all because of its firmness. In fact, true love seems to be like the pole star which never changes its position in the night sky. Just as the pole star guides a lost ship, real love too guides the course of life. In this sense, the value of true love is inestimable like the pole star whose altitude can be determined but, its worth remains immeasurable.

True love is ageless as time has no influence over it. The speaker personifies time as a Grim Reaper, in long robe, carrying a sickle. Just as a reaper reaps crops with his sickle, time destroys the lustrous beauty of a person. The rosy lips and cheeks thus, come within time’s blow but true love endures because it is transcendental.

True love does not change with hours and weeks. Instead, continues remaining loyal and devoted till the dreadful day of judgment. If such conviction proves to be wrong, the poet would not have written a single word. Even people wouldn’t have been in love if true love isn’t what the poet claims it to be.

Sonnet-116 Poem Paraphrase

Stanza I :

The speaker disapproves any sort of interference amidst true love. After all true love conquers all obstacles which come on its way and remains loyal and devoted forever. Love ceases to become true if it changes with the change of time or with the change in the loved one. In other words, real love doesn’t disappear even when the loved one remove affection. Real love continues to survive amidst all odds.

Stanza II :

True love is always steady and firm. The storms of life can never influence true love all because of its firmness. In fact, true love seems to be like the pole star which never changes its position in the night sky. Just as the pole star guides a lost ship, real love too guides the course of life. In this sense, the value of true love is inestimable like the pole star whose altitude can be determined but, its worth remains immeasurable.

Stanza III :

True love is ageless as time has no influence over it. Time however is fancied as a Grim Reaper, in long robe, carrying a sickle. Just as a reaper reaps crops with his sickle, time destroys the lustrous beauty of a person. The rosy lips and cheeks thus, come within time’s blow but true love continues to exist as it is beyond physical. True love does not change with hours and weeks. Instead, continues remaining loyal and devoted till the dreadful day of judgment.

Couplet:

If the nature of true love advocated by the poet is wrong then he would not have written a single word. Even no man would ever have been in love if true love isn’t what the poet claims in this poem.

Sonnet-116 Poem Annotations with Comments

Stanza I:

The marriage of true minds : refers to the attachment of two minds in
Admit impediments : allow interference
Let me not …. Impediments : the speaker disapproves any sort of interference amidst true love. After all true love conquers all obstacles which come on its way
Love is not love : love ceases to become true
Which alters …….. finds : true love never changes with the change of time
Bends with……. remove : true love never changes when it finds changes in the loved one.

Comment:

The marriage of true minds: Shakespeare defines the ideal relationship as the marriage of true minds; i.e. the deep attachment of two minds. The expression however is based upon the Christian marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer: if any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it.”

Stanza II.

O no! : true love doesn’t change or expire.
It is … mark : true love is always steady and firm.
That looks ….. tempests: true love has courage to face and endure the storms of life
never shaken : never be terrorised
star : refers to the pole star
bark : ship
wandering bark : ship which becomes directionless
worth : value
height : altitude
whose worth … be taken : whose value ¡s inestimable although its altitude can be determined.

Comment:

It is the star to every wand ring bark: The speaker tells what love is through the metaphor of a guiding star to lost ships. Just as a pole star guides a lost ship, love too guides the course of life. Moreover, true love remains steady like pole star even amidst all odds. The constancy of true love is thus highlighted in this verse-line.

Stanza III.

Time’s fool : something that exists for a short period only
Love’s….fool : time has no influence over true ¡oie. It cannot destroy true love which remains for life long.
Rosy lips and cheeks : youthful beauty
sickle’s : scythe
bending sickle’s : this Is a traditional picture of the Grim Reaper.
Within his …. compass : time is personified as a reaper in long robe, carrying a sickle
Though rosy lips…. come : though beauty fades in time as rosy lips and cheeks come within time’s blow
Alters :  change
Love alters … weeks : Love does not change with hours and weeks.
But bears it out: love remains loyal and devoted
to the edge of doom : love remains steady till the last point of the doomsday, when the whole creation will be destroyed. The reference to ‘doom” refers to the Catholic conviction of the doomsday.

Comment:

Love’s not Time’s fool, …. compass come : Shakespeare’s belief that time has no influence over true love is established in these lines. True love is ageless. Even when one grows old, love continues to exists though the physical beauty falls prey to time’s sickle. Shakespeare believes that It is the constancy that binds together the two mutually loving persons.

Within his bending sickle’s compass come : The image of time carrying a sickle brings to the mind the image of the Grim Reaper. The Image how ever is drawn from the traditional myth of Cronus a harvest god, in long robes, bearing a scythe.

Lines 13 to 14: (Couplet)

This : refers to the nature of true love advocated by the poet.
This be error : if the conviction of true love being ageless can be proved to be wrong
I never writ : the poet would not have written a word
no man …… Iov’d : no man can ever have been in love

Comment :

The sonnet makes a dramatic and fairly strong final remark. The poet is in a way confirmed that true love is always ageless and can lead mankind to a meaningful and happy life. If true love would have been a myth, he wouldn’t have wasted time writing about it and no one would have fallen in love.

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 3 Sonnet-116

Poem 3 Sonnet-116

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 3 Sonnet-116

Sonnet-116 Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
What symbolism is used in Sonnet 116?
Answer:
A symbol is created when something has both literal and figurative meaning. A metaphor, on the other hand, has only figurative meaning, and it compares two unalike things. In this sonnet, speaker says that love, real love, is an “ever-fixed mark / that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” He compares love to a lighthouse, an object that stays put and guides ships through storms and does not move, via a metaphor.

Next, he says that love is “the star to every wandering barks,” again using a metaphor, to compare love to the North Star, which seems never to move in the skies, so ships can use it to navigate. The speaker also uses a lot of personification in the poem, the attribution of human qualities to things that are not human. For example, both “Love” and “Time” are given intention; Love is described as not being “Time’s fool,” and both Love and Time are gendered as male.

Question 2.
Critically analyse “Sonnet 116.”
Answer:
‘Sonnet 116’ has its own richness with a deeply meaningful inside. The first 126 sonnets of Shakespeare are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet or speaker is emotionally bound. The rest of the sonnets are addressed to the “Dark Lady”.

When we go through the poem, we can understand that Love is the most important theme of ‘Sonnet 116’. The poet glorifies the meaning of true love, which can overcome all obstacles and thus remain unchanged even in the course of time.

This sonnet starts with the reference to the Christian marriage service and its accompanying ceremonies. In this poem, the poet talks about the union of true minds. The poet makes the distinction between true love and unfaithful love. According to him, love is not a love that alters under changed circumstances. True love never changes, except though one of the lovers becomes unfaithful to another.

In this poem, Shakespeare uses two metaphors to bring out the permanence of true love. First, the poet says that love is an ever-fixed mark, a lighthouse that always guide us in storms but never shakes. Next, he says that love is the pole star that guides every wandering ship in the ocean. Its value is unknown when its height is calculated.

In the third quatrain, the poet reveals the ravages of time. Time being personified as a reaper who carries the sickle with which he cuts man’s life, looks, and possessions. Time will ruin the pink lips and the cheeks, but true love does not depend on physical beauty as it is everlasting, even with the passage of time. Until the end of the world, it will remain the same.

It’s constant and permanent, and nothing will change it. The last two lines strongly support the poet’s assertion that true love is constant and permanent. If someone proves that this assertion is false, then the poet claims adamantly that he never wrote any poetry, and no man has ever known true love.

Question 3.
“Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks…man ever loved.”— Explain these lines in your own words.
Answer:
Here, we should notice on the capitalized “Time.” Actually, Shakespeare personifies time as a person here giving an impress on death. He says that love is not the fool of time. One’s rosy lips and cheeks will certainly pale with age, as “his bending sickle’s compass come.” Shakespeare’s diction is important here, particularly with his use of the word “sickle.”

Through these lines the inevitability of death is portrayed. We are assured here that death will certainly come, but that will not stop love. It may kill the mortals, but the love itself is eternal. True love always persists, the passing of time does not affect it’s purity. This thought is continued in lines eleven and twelve, the final two lines of the third quatrain.

Shakespeare uses lines thirteen and fourteen, the final couplet of Sonnet 116, to assert just how truly he believes that love is everlasting and conquers all. In this part of Sonnet 116, Shakespeare is telling his readers that if someone proves, he is wrong about love, then he never wrote the following words, and no man ever loved.

He conveys here that if his words are untrue, nothing else would exist. The words he just wrote would have never been written, and no man would have ever loved before. His adamant nature is clearly shown here about this matter, and his tough words are what strengthen the sonnet itself. The speaker and poet himself are convinced that love is real, true, and everlasting.

Question 4.
“O no, it is an ever-fixed mark..”- Explain this with reference to the context.
Answer:
Here, Shakespeare tells his readers more confidently about the everlasting nature of true love. The poet asserts that it is like a lighthouse that guides people through its beam. Again, it can be argued here that Shakespeare decides to personify love since it is something that is intangible and not something that can be defeated by something tangible, such as a storm.

Shakespeare, describing the nature of true love through these lines uses the metaphor of the North Star to add richness to the poem. To Shakespeare, love is the star that guides every bark, or ship, on the water, and while it is priceless, it can be measured. This a well-noted reference. Shakespeare concedes that love’s worth is not known, but he says it can be measured. Through these lines, perhaps the poet assumes that the readers will understand the different ways in which one can measure love: through time and actions.

Question 5.
Comment on the theme of the poem “Sonnet 116.”
Answer:
The main theme in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” is true love and its everlasting nature. The poet here says that hue love unites two mind and it never changes with time. He talks about love in terms of marriage of true minds. Marriage,just like love, is a holy bond between two persons. It should be based oh mutual respect, trust, and honesty. Nothing can come between two minds if they are duly in love.

Then, the poet defines love in the first stanza. He explains that love will not be love if it changes or ends because of the change of situation or hardships in life. Love, therefore, should be steadfast, fixed, and Constantin the second stanza, the poet develops his definition of love.

He states that love should as solid and fixed as a rock or an oak tree that stands against tempests. Here tempests stand for hardships, ordeals and sufferings of life. It should enlighten the way of the people and guide them just like the North Star that guides the sailors in the dark sea.

In the third stanza, Shakespeare points out that love should be timeless or eternal to be precise. It should stay fixed in its position and strength. It should survive the test of time and grow stronger. As lovers grow older, the bond of love should become tighter.

To conclude, the poet illustrates the characteristics of true love in this sonnet. In his opinion, true love is the love that helps people to be happy and productive. It is very precious and loveable feeling. It should be permanent, timeless and self-contained. This is the type of love that one should maintain in his life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
What are the different aspects of love that the poet discusses in the sonnet?
Answer:
The poet distinguishes between true love and unfaithful love. Love is not love which alters under changed circumstances. True love is constant and permanent which never alters with time. Nothing can destroy it whereas unfaithful love always alters with time and does not stand a chance to fade away.

Question 2.
What is the style of writing the sonnet?
Answer:
The poem, “Sonnet 116” is a sonnet which is deeply meaningful. This sonnet is divided into three quatrains and ended with a couplet. The rhyming scheme of this poem is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This poem strictly follows the style of iambic pentameter with stressed and unstressed syllables. To add richness to the poem, the poet had used various standard metaphors, alliteration and declamatory to state the very fact of the poem.

Question 3.
What does Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnetll6” refer to by the phrase “marriage of true minds”?
Answer:
By the phrase “marriage of true minds” Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” refers to two devoted minds that are in true love. Persons devoid of self-interest have true minds. Thus the ‘marriage’, means the union, of these two people who are completely and faithfully in love with each other.

Question 4.
How does Shakespeare use the image of Pole Star in his poem “Sonnet 116”?
Answer:
In his poem “Sonnet 116” Shakespeare uses the star to mean the Pole Star which remains forever in the same position in the northern sky. This star guides the off track ships to the proper track. Similarly ideal relationship guides those people who are baffled in the sea of life.

Question 5.
What does Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” means by the expression “Love’s not Time’s fool”?
Answer:
By the expression “Love’s not Time’s fool”, Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” means that true love never bends down in front of time. No matter how hard and ruthless the time’s “bending sickle” is, it cannot shake the intensity of true love. According to the poet, true love is eternal so it does not alter.

Question 6.
“If this be error and upon me proved/I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”- Comment.
Answer:
According to the poet, his ideologies about true love and its nature are absolutely correct and he is quiet adamant in proving his point. Throughout this sonnet, Shakespeare has discussed true love and its everlasting nature and at the end, ends it on a note of certainty. He says that if his ideologies are perceived to be wrong by any chance, it should be assumed with confidence that he was never written anything or no person in this earth has ever loved truly.

Question 7.
What type of love does the poet have in mind while writing this sonnet?
Answer:
In this sonnet, the poet William Shakespeare visualizes an ideal love that has no end. Shakespeare expresses that if two persons are truly in love with each other, then nothing can come in between them as their relationship would be beyond physical beauty and it will last for eternity.

The poet strictly discourages any false show of love and make the readers understand the value of true love. According to the poet, true love doesn’t change with time, it lasts

Sonnet-116 Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
According to the poets “love I not level which alters” because_______
Answer:
True love never changes.

Question 2.
The poet strictly discourages the false show of love because _______
Answer:
It has no purity in it.

Question 3.
In this poem. the poet does not celebrates physical beauty because_____
Answer:
It fades out with the passing of time.

Question 4.
True love is compared with the Pole Star because ______
Answer:
It remains constant always.

Question 5.
“Love’s not Time’s fool” because ______
Answer:
It does not change with time.

Question 6.
Time has been personified in his sonnet as a reaper because ______
Answer:
It destroys every mortal things.

Question 7.
True love is compared with a lighthouse because
Answer:
Just like a lighthouse it guides us to the purity of heart.

Question 8.
True love should not be restricted to anything because
Answer:
It is eternal.

Question 9.
The poet has used several figures of speech in this poem because
Answer:
To add richness to the poem.

Question 10.
“Sonnet 116” can be considered as a typical example of Shakespearean sonnet because
Answer:
Ofits structure and form.

Sonnet-116 Poem About the Poet William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April. His father was a successful local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.

He is often called England’s national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. He wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

William Shakespeare would have lived with his family in their house on Henley Street until he turned eighteen. When he was eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. It was a rushed marriage because Anne was already pregnant at the time of the ceremony. Together they had three children. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months after the wedding and was later followed by twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when he was just 11 years old.

But he is thought to have spent most of his time in London writing and performing in his plays. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer. Shakespeare’s career jump-started in London, but when did he go there? We know Shakespeare’s twins were baptised in 1585, and that by 1592 his reputation was established in London, but the intervening years are considered a mystery. Scholars generally refer to these years as ‘The Lost Years’.

During his time in London, Shakespeare’s first printed works were published. They were two long poems, ‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594). He also became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of actors. Shakespeare was the company’s regular dramatist, producing on average two plays a year, for almost twenty years.

He remained with the company for the rest of his career, during which time it evolved into The King’s Men under the patronage of King James I (from 1603). During his time in the company Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous tragedies, such as King Lear and Macbeth, as well as great romances, like The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare’s success in the London theatres made him considerably wealthy, and by 1597 he was able to purchase New Place, the largest house in the borough of Stratford- upon-Avon. Although his professional career was spent in London, he maintained close links with his native town.

Recent archaeological evidence discovered on the site of Shakespeare’s New Place shows that Shakespeare was only ever an intermittent lodger in London. This suggests he divided his time between Stratford and London (a two or three-day commute). In his later years, he may have spent more time in Stratford-upon-Avon than scholars previously thought.

Shakespeare’s plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in “perfect health”.

Sonnet-116 About the Poem

Sonnet 116 is one of the most celebrated sonnets of Shakespeare that talks about the unchanging nature of human love. The definition of love that it provides is among the most often quoted and anthologized in the poetic canon. Essentially, this sonnet presents the extreme ideal of romantic love: it never changes, it never fades, it outlasts death and admits no flaw. What is more, it insists that this ideal is the only love that can be called “true”- and if love is considered as ever-changing, or non-permanent, then according to the poet, no man has everloved.

The basic division of this poem’s argument into the various parts of the sonnet form is extremely simple: the first quatrain says what love is not (changeable), the second quatrain says what it is (a fixed guiding star unshaken by tempests) and the third quatrain says more specifically what it is not (“time’s fool” – that is, subject to change in the passage of time), and the final couplet announces the speaker’s certainty. What gives this poem its rhetorical and emotional power is not its complexity but it’s force of linguistic and emotional conviction.

Sonnet-116 Poem in Detail

Sonnet 116 is one of the celebrated sonnets of Shakespeare where the poet talks about the importance of true love thus differentiating it from the false show of being in love. This sonnet is formed by following a perfect Shakespearean form with three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. It’s rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.

The sonnet begins with “Let me not to the marriage of true minds/Admits impediments…”, which expresses that true love is the union of two minds completely devoted to each other. Shakespeare delineates the great qualities of true love. The poet has explained true love in a very free way. Expressing his faith in the power of true love, the poet says that there can be no obstacles in the union of true lovers. True love is everlasting, that is why never changes even when there is a chance of change. It does not submit to the power of its annihilator. In other words the poet declares its unparalleled quality of constancy and steadfastness. True love never submits to anybody.

The theme of the poem is fully developed by comparing the everlasting nature of true love to the sun and North star (Pole Star) which is to remain constant and guide the wandering ships in the uncharted ocean. In the same way true love also does not yield before the difficulties of life and guide lovers in their life. True love is permanent and fixed like the sun and the pole star in the universe.

According to Shakespeare, time is a universal destroyer which destroys everything but it has no effect on true love. He compares time to a farmer. A farmer reaps crops with his sickle. In the same way time destroys the physical beauty of a person. It can finish the rosy lips and cheeks of a lady. But true love is beyond physicality as love does not come in the range of time’s sickle.

It does not change with the passage of time. The depth of love, like full worth and potentialities of the pole star, can never be completely known. The North Star and ideal love are both beyond human estimation as they are too high to be measured. The love or the spiritual love is not at all affected by death, decay and destruction caused by the passage of time. Whereas it remains constant even to the dreadful day of judgment.

At the end of the poem, we see a strong determination of the poet in proving his point. Here, the poet makes a claim, asserting that if anybody can prove him wrong, he will admit that he is neither a poet nor has anybody ever loved in this world. This shows, how positive the poet is, when it comes to trust the power of true love. To conclude, it can be said that the theme of this sonnet has been beautifully and effectively developed. True love is constant, immortal and a source of guidance to the lovers in life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Line Wise Explanation

“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.”

The poem begins with these deeply meaningful lines where Shakespeare uses the metaphor of marriage to compare it to true, real love. According to him, marriage is the result of two devoted minds completely in love with each other. Ho is saying that there is no reason why two people who truly love should not be together; nothing should stand in their way.

Perhaps he is speaking about his feelings for the unknown person to whom it is assumed that this sonnet is dedicated. Shakespeare further continued with his thought that true love conquers all. In these lines, the speaker expresses that if love changes with time, it is not true because true love never dies, or if someone tries to “remove” it, it won’t be. Love does not stop just because something is altered, it lasts forever.

“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.”

Here, Shakespeare tells his readers more confidently about the everlasting nature of true love. The poet asserts that it is like a lighthouse that guides people through its beam. Again, it can be argued here that Shakespeare decides to personify love since it is something that is intangible and not something that can be defeated by something tangible, such as a storm.

Shakespeare in these lines uses the metaphor of the North Star to add richness while discussing about true love. To Shakespeare, love is the star that guides every bark, or ship, on the water, and while it is priceless, it can be measured. This a well-noted reference. Shakespeare concedes that love’s worth is not known, but he says it can be measured. Through these lines, perhaps the poet assumes that the readers will understand the different ways in which one can measure love: through time and actions. With that thought, the second quatrain ends.

“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 proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”

Here, we should notice on the capitalized “Time.” Actually, Shakespeare personifies time as a person here giving an impress on death. He says that love is not the fool of time. One’s rosy lips and cheeks will certainly pale with age, as “his bending sickle’s compass come.” Shakespeare’s diction is important here, particularly with his use of the word “sickle.”

Through these lines the inevitability of death is portrayed. We are assured here that death will certainly come, but that will not stop love. It may kill the mortals, but the love itself is eternal. True love always persists, the passing of time does not affect it’s purity. This thought is continued in lines eleven and twelve, the final two lines of the third quatrain.

Shakespeare uses lines thirteen and fourteen, the final couplet of Sonnet 116, to assert just how truly he believes that love is everlasting and conquers all. In this part of Sonnet 116, Shakespeare is telling his readers that if someone proves, he is wrong about love, then he never wrote the following words, and no man ever loved.

He conveys here that if his words are untrue, nothing else would exist. The words he just wrote would have never been written, and no man would have ever loved before. His adamant nature is clearly shown hereabout this matter, and his tough words are what strengthen the sonnet itself. The speaker and poet himself are convinced that love is real, true, and everlasting.

Sonnet-116 Poem Theme

The main theme in William Shakespeare “Sonnet 116” is true love and its everlasting nature. The poet here says that true love unites two mind and it never changes with time. Thepoet begins by saying that one should not put obstacles in front of truelove. He talks about love in terms of marriage of true minds. Marriage, just like love, is a holy bond between two persons. It should be based on mutual respect, trust, and honesty.

Nothing can come between two minds if they are truly in love. Then, the poet defines love in the first stanza. He explains that love will not be love if it changes or ends because of the change of situation or hard ships in life. Love, therefore, should be steadfast, fixed, and constant. In the second stanza, the poet develops his definition of love. He states that love should as solid and fixed as a rock or an oak tree that stands against tempests. Here tempests stand for hardships, ordeals and sufferings of life.

It should enlighten the way of the people and guide them just like the North Star that guides the sailors in the dark sea. In the third stanza, Shakespeare points out that love should be timeless or eternal to be precise. It should stay fixed in its position and strength. It should survive the test of time and grow stronger. As lovers grow older, the bond of love should become tighter.

To conclude, the poet illustrates the characteristics of true love in this sonnet. In his opinion, true love is the love that helps people to be happy and productive. It is very precious and loveable feeling. It should be permanent, timeless and self- contained. This is the type of love that one should maintain in his life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Word Meaning

Marriage – A legally accepted relationship between two people in which they live together, or the official ceremony that results in this
Impediments – Something that makes progress, movement, or achieving something difficult or impossible
Alteration – To change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
Alters – To change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
Bears – To accept, tolerate, or endure something, especially something unpleasant
Doom – Death, destruction, or any very bad situation that cannot be avoided
Admits – Accepts
Tempests – Storms
Wand’ring – Roaming
Rosy – Red in colour, here, signifies youth and beauty
Sickle – An agricultural implement consisting of a curved metal blade
Brief – Small
Cheeks – The fleshy side of the face below the eye
Compass – To devise or contrive with craft or skill
Edge – Side
Doom – Destruction, death

Sonnet-116 Poem Critical Appreciation

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, all dealing with the theme of love, time, beauty, friendship and mortality. Each of his sonnets is unique in its own way. ‘Sonnet 116’ has its own richness with a deeply meaningful inside. The first 126 sonnets of Shakespeare are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet or speaker is emotionally bound.

The rest of the sonnets are addressed to the “Dark Lady”. When we go through the poem, we can understand that Love is the most important theme of ‘Sonnet 116’. The poet glorifies the meaning of true love, which can overcome all obstacles and thus remain unchanged even in the course of time.

This sonnet starts with the reference to the Christian marriage service and its accompanying ceremonies. In this poem, the poet talks about the union of true minds. The poet makes the distinction between true love and unfaithful love. According to him, love is not a love that alters under changed circumstances. True love never changes, except though one of the lovers becomes unfaithful to another.

In this poem, Shakespeare uses two metaphors to bring out the permanence of true love. First, the poet says that love is an ever-fixed mark, a lighthouse that always guide us in storms but never shakes. Next, he says that love is the pole star that guides every wandering ship in the ocean. Its value is unknown when its height is calculated.

In the third quatrain, the poet reveals the ravages of time. Time being personified as a reaper who carries the sickle with which he cuts man’s life, looks, and possessions. Time will ruin the pink lips and the cheeks, but true love does not depend on physical beauty as it is everlasting, even with the passage of time. Until the end of the world, it will remain the same.

It’s constant and permanent, and nothing will change it. The last two lines strongly support the poet’s assertion that true love is constant and permanent. If someone proves that this assertion is false, then the poet claims adamantly that he never wrote any poetry, and no man has ever known true love.

Sonnet-116 Poem Style

The poem, “Sonnet 116” is a sonnet which is deeply meaningful. This sonnet is divided into three quatrains and ended with a couplet. The rhyming scheme of this poem is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This poem strictly follows the style of iambic pentameter with stressed and unstressed syllables.

To add richness to the poem, the poet had used various standard metaphors like- “Love’s not Time’s fool, though his height be taken/Within his bending sickle’s compass come”, “It is the star to every wand’ring bark,/Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken” etc.

In this poem, we can also witness the use of alliteration (“But bears it out even to the edge of the doom” etc.) and declamatory (“O no…” etc.) to state the very fact of the poem.

Sonnet-116 Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
In which year was Vi1Iiam Shakespeare born?
a. 1588
b. 1564
c. 1616
d. 1600
Answer:
b. 1564

Question 2.
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?
a. 152
b. 164
c. 154
d. 156
Answer:
c. 154

Question 3.
What does “Sonnet 116” talk about?
a. Ideal love
b. Ideal companionship
c. Ideal moments
d. Ideal friendship
Answer:
a. Ideal love

Question 4.
“Love’s not Time’s fool” What figure of speech is used here?
a. Metaphor
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Allegory
Answer:
b. Personification

Question 5.
What is the theme of “Sonnet 116 ?
a. True love remains steady
b. Even the strongest love is temporary
c. Age and time alter love
d. Love change as life changes
Answer:
a. True love remains steady

Question 6.
According to the poet what is true love?
a. Mortal
b. Dishonest
c. Immortal
d. Corrupted
Answer:
c. Immortal

Question 7.
What is the rhyme scheme of the sonnet 116 ?
a. ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
b. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
c. ABBAABBA CDCDCD
d. ABBAABBA CDECDE
Answer:
b. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Question 8.
How many children did Shakespeare have?
a. Three
b. Two
c. Four
d. One
Answer:
a. Three

Question 9.
“It is the______to every wand’ ring bark”
a. Earth
b. Moon
c. Sun
d. Star
Answer:
d. Star

Question 10.
What does “tempests” suggest iii “Sonnet 116”?
a. Difficulties, obstacles a lover may face
b. A strong wind
c. A storm
d. Temptations
Answer:
a. Difficulties, obstacles a lover may face

Question 11.
Where did Shakespeare’s career start?
a. Norway
b. London
c. USA
d. Scotland
Answer:
b. London

Question 12.
When was Venus and Adoiiis”puhlished?
a. 1593
b. 1693
c. 1594
d. 1359
Answer:
a. 1593

Question 13.
When was “The Rape of published?
a. 1794
b. 1694
c. 1894
d. 1594
Answer:
d. 1594

Question 14.
Which star guides every bark”?
a. Orion
b. Canis Major
c. Pole Star
d. Sun
Answer:
c. Pole Star

Question 15.
How are the lips mentioned here?
a. pink
b. pale
c. rosy
b. dark
Answer:
c. rosy

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers