“Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds” is a short sonnet yet an impactful poem about love. Each line of the poem is an enduring statement of love. Therefore, we will bring examples from real life into our discussion to ensure its relevance. Our discussion includes:

Sonnet 116 Summary

The speaker defines love in the first quatrain of the sonnet as something unbreakable. Nothing can prevent the union of genuine lovers because they are devoted and determined to overcome all odds in life. Their determination does not let them change amidst troubles. If it changes, it is phony.

The speaker compares love to a stable lighthouse and a star in the following quatrain. Real love is like the firm lighthouse that a storm cannot shake by its force. It is as strong as the spirit of resilience to fight against all external problems. Like the north star, love is a guiding force that guides couples. It is the unwavering principles that guide us through life.

The speaker draws a comparison between love with amorous love in the third quatrain. Fake love perishes as the beauty of the lovers fades. On the other hand, real love lasts longer than that. It withstands the test of time and remains till the end of time.

The sonnet ends with a strong assertion. If the statements on love are wrong, the speaker declares he will never write anything, and no person has ever loved anyone.

Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds Analysis

Sonnet 116 Line-by-Line 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 union of true two lovers does not allow an obstacle to come between their ongoing bonding. They are aware of the fact that if they allow it, it could cause problems to their existing peaceful relationship.

The impediment could come from any source. Whatever the source is, they will never let it change them.  For instance, the love story of Richard and Mildred is an example of love fighting against social injustice like interracial marriage.

Their fight against social injustice led them to the Supreme Court in the U.S. in 1967. In the Loving v. Virginia battle, the honorable court passed the judgment in favor of the lovers and love won over the social stigma.

Therefore, we can conclude that obstacle becomes a defining factor to understand how strong love is.

On the other hand, love in today’s love is likely to change if any big issue occurs over time. Therefore, the speaker declares if circumstances change love it is not love. 

Fake love sticks till the motif of being with the person exists. The motif could be an emotional need, a physical need, or anything. Once it ends, everything is gone. 

True love does not bend with the remover to remove. The external issue cannot extinguish the fire of love.

As a whole, from these first four lines of the sonnet, the speaker reinforces the nature of true love. It is strong, steady, sustainable, and unchangeable.   

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 is taken.

The speaker goes on to declare that love is not love is an unwavering lighthouse that is never shaken amidst a storm. He compares the consistency of love to that of a firm lighthouse which gives light and direction and does not get affected by it. 

He also employs another metaphor “storm” to refer to adverse situations in the lives of lovers.

Moreover, the speaker asserts that love is a guiding star to every wandering ship. He again uses another metaphor of “star” to compare love which is a beacon of hope amid hard times. The way the north star guides the ship and saves it from getting lost in the vast sea, similarly, true love guides lovers and remains as a light to lovers.

Therefore, from these next four lines, we can gather the idea that love is durable and reliable.

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.

In these lines, the speaker draws an analogy between human beauty and love. Love does not get affected by time. On the other hand, physical beauty like rosy lips and cheeks changes with time. The phrase “rosy lips and cheeks” stand for beauty. They are inevitable to change, but not love.

The image of Time as a being holding a sickle implies death or the end of life. The speaker states that true love does not change with time’s short hours and weeks rather it remains till the end of life. The phrase “the edge of doom” suggests.

In a nutshell, from these lines, we gather the nature of love is it is timeless as it surpasses time.  

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

The speaker ends the sonnet with a bold statement. In the couplet, the speaker states that whatever he has said about love in the above lines is not true and if someone proves him wrong, it means he has never written anything about love nor anyone has ever loved.

In this regard, I remember a line that goes, “People were made to be loved and things were made to be used. But now things are loved and people are used.” This shows how much man has changed.