Contraction and Expansion The Suggestive Potential of the Sonnet

Remember: 7 Steps for Discovery Language — the Literal Level Language — the Imagistic and Figurative Level Poetic Form Tone Narration Allusions, Archetypes, and Symbols—External References The Big Picture (word order and denotation) (connotations, sensory images, and figurative language) (meter, rhyme, and rhythm/sound effects/ traditional forms) (attitude of speaker/ implied audience) (events and sequence) (references to outside events and works of art/ mythic references/ that which stands for something beyond the literal) (unifying the analysis performed in the first six steps)

Sonnet 116 by W. Shakespeare 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: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken. 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.

A Closer Look: The First Quatrain 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: 3-Alternating end rhyme; iambic pentameter 4-Determined, authoritative tone 5-Narrator introduces the key theme of love 6-Uses the manipulation of tangible objects as a symbol of how people act whose love is not true (when love isn’t true, those involved attempt to change one another) 7-Delay until the reading is completed 1-Love is dually defined: (a) what it does: love refuses to believe any obstacle is too great; (b) what it does not do: change its nature due to external events. 2-Key images: marriage, removal

A Closer Look: The Second Quatrain O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken 3-Alternating end rhyme; iambic pentameter 4-Determined, authoritative tone 5-Narrator expands on his positive definition given in the first stanza 6-Weathering the storm symbolizes strength and resolve; the star is a symbol of guidance, endurance, and permanence 7-Delay until the reading is completed 1- “It” can go through storms without being shaken. “It” is the north star who guides lost ships on the sea. 2-Key images: strength in the storm and the guiding star

A Closer Look: The Third Quatrain 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. 2- (continued) In this case, it is coming to claim the “life” of youth and beauty. The fact that “Love” survives this indicates that the narrator believes true love’s basis does not lie in physical attraction, but on some deeper level. 3-Alternating end rhyme; iambic pentameter 4-Powerful tone, even willing to defy Time and Death 5-Narrator tells of Love’s power, outlasting Time (a figure often thought of as omnipotent, a power that will outlast and destroy all human endeavors) 6-”Rosy lips and cheeks” symbolize the beauty of youth; the sickle is a symbol of death. 7-Delay until the reading is completed 1-Even though Time takes away physical beauty, it is not superior to Love. Love endures Time’s passage. 2- “Love” and “Time” are personified. The sickle (a reaping tool) is most frequently associated with death.

A Closer Look: The Concluding Couplet If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. 1- If the narrator (William Shakespeare) can be proved wrong, then he never wrote and no man ever truly loved 2- No key images 3- End rhyme; iambic pentameter 4- Authoritative tone, challenges readers to try to prove him wrong 5- Narrator uses his final words to highlight the conviction he feels regarding his definition of Love 6- No key symbols 7- Review prior notes

Step 7: The Big Picture Love is dually defined: (a) what it does: love refuses to believe any obstacle is too great; (b) what it does not do: change its nature due to external events. Poem follows the form of the English Sonnet Tone is authoritative and assertive throughout The manipulation of tangible objects is a symbol of how people act whose love is not true (when love isn’t true, those involved attempt to change one another) Weathering the storm symbolizes strength and resolve; the star is a symbol of guidance, endurance, and permanence Even though Time takes away physical beauty, it is not superior to Love. Love endures Time’s passage. “Love” and “Time” are personified. The sickle (a reaping tool) is most frequently associated with death. In this case, it is coming to claim the “life” of youth and beauty. The fact that “Love” survives this indicates that the narrator believes true love’s basis does not lie in physical attraction, but on some deeper level. Narrator tells of Love’s power, outlasting Time (a figure often thought of as omnipotent, a power that will outlast and destroy all human endeavors) ”Rosy lips and cheeks” symbolize the beauty of youth; the sickle is a symbol of death. If the narrator (William Shakespeare) can be proved wrong, then he never wrote and no man ever truly loved Narrator uses his final words to highlight the conviction he feels regarding his definition of Love

Questions & Comments Is his definition of love accurate?Is his definition of love accurate? Is love of this nature possible?Is love of this nature possible? Has he ignored any key aspect of love?Has he ignored any key aspect of love? Is there an image or metaphor you believe better displays love than the ones he has used?Is there an image or metaphor you believe better displays love than the ones he has used?