Words: 776
The writer aims to describe to the reader the nature of love through what love is not, and uses techniques such as repetition and allusions. In the opening lines of the sonnet, the persona bids the reader to “Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments. ” It is inevitable that we make a connection to the Episcopal Book, where it is stated, “…if either of you do know any impediment why you may not be lawfully joined together in marriage, that ye confess it. While it is important to recognize the significance of this allusion, in this sonnet the persona is using this reference mainly to emphasize the spiritual union of two people through their common factor, love. The phrase “or bends with the remover to remove” implies, however, that true love continues even when it is not shared, when it is no longer a “common factor. ” True love, that is, is both unconditional and eternal. The first line acts as an introduction for the poem and is followed by the main content of the sonnet.
Shakespeare uses enjambment in the second line to create a sense of acceleration and move the reader away from the opening and into the depths of the poem. The persona goes on to say that true love will endure all obstacles, as is evident in the line, “or alters when it alteration finds,” where the use of repetition of “alter” connotes an instability of superficial love, which changes when faced with change. In the first quatrain, the persona aims to define love through what it is not, while in the next quatrain he defines love based on what it is: eternal and unconditional commitment.
The persona uses metaphorical comparison, personification and epithet very effectively in demonstrating the guiding, stable, determined nature of love. Shakespeare describes love as an “ever-fixed mark,/ that looks on tempest, and is never shaken;” The use of the epithet “ever-fixed” for mark creates an image of a solid wall of courage and determination in the face of a menacing ocean storm. A tempest means certain trouble to a sailor, but the courageous face of love does not falter in the presence of this intimidating image.
The use of the phrase, “O no;” slows the pace of the poem and foreshadows the metaphor that is to follow. Love is presented as a guiding force through the use of the metaphor, “It is the star to every wandering bark. ” The use of the verb “wandering” creates a sense of aimlessness and confusion the “barks,” or boats have, and the need for the North Star to guide them on their way. Whilst the image created by the word “star” is one of guidance, it also connotes a brilliance that love has as it shines about all else in the heavens above
It is important that Shakespeare makes reference to “fool,” given the socio-historical context in which this sonnet was written. As we see others of Shakespeare’s works, a fool is often a joker present only for the entertainment of nobility. In this sonnet, time is that nobility. Shakespeare wishes to create an image that love is not dependent or victim to the forces of external factors. In the line, “sickle’s compass come;” alliteration is used to echo the destructive forces of time. The harsh “c” sound is onomatopoeic and emphases the impeding nature of time.
A sense beyond time and place is created in the lines leading up to the couplet, as the persona states that “Love alters not with his brief hour and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. ” Love in these lines is seen be an enduring force, and will persevere until “the edge of doom,” or Judgment Day, if not beyond. The long vowel sound in the verb “bears,” when juxtaposed with the harsher “c” sound of the lines before, emphasizes the eternal nature of love. The rhyming couplet of this sonnet is somewhat an anti-climax.
For twelve lines the persona carefully defines and describes love by a variety of means, while the final two lines do not make any sort of profound suggestion. The final quasi-rhyming couplet is more a statement than a resolution, but nevertheless a bold one. The final couplet states, “If this be error, and upon me prov’d,/ I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d. ” That is, those who know the fullness of love understand its eternal and unconditional nature. The emphatic statement at the end is thus a repudiation of all lesser conceptions of love, including a merely romantic conception.