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Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
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Shakes pearean/El i z abethan s o nnet: 14 l i ne devi ded i nto 3Theme: The s peaker ' s s tr o ng quatrai ns o f 4 l i nes each, endi ng i n a r hymi ng co upl et.
r es o l ve to l o ve i n the face o f
di ffi cul ti es . The bri ghtnes s o f Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
yo uth may di s appear as o l d
age advances , but l o ve wi l l
co nti nue even ti l l death. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
O bs tacl es to l o ve: “r emo ve”,
“i mpedi ments ”, “tempes ts ”,
To ne o f co nfi dence, cer tai nty,
“do o m”.
s el f-bel i ef & pas s i o nate
thro ugho ut the po em. Let me not to the marriage of true minds Metapho r fo r the uni o n o f tw o
“o” Assonance peo pl e' s mi nds (mental l y uni ted).
Admit impediments. Love is not love Lo ve never bends w i th ti me
Q uatrai n 1 (l i nes 1-4) Enjambment
Change
Two -fo l d meani ng (ex ampl e
Which alters when it alteration finds,
o f l ex i cal po l ys emy): 1)
“e” Assonance
C hanges the to ne: s hi fts No rth s tar & 2) Li ght ho us e
Or bends with the remover to remove. (l i ne 7)
fr o m negati ve to po s i ti ve.
Permanent
O, no! It is an ever-fixèd mark Metapho r : l i kens the
5
Storms co ns tancy o f l o ve to l i nes
That looks on tempests and is never shaken; 5 & 7, bo th s ugges ti ng
Q uatrai n 2 (l i nes 5-8) the
Metaphoi dea or:f the co mpas
l i kens the s
“a” Assonance Known as a ship in Shakespearean times
(lco
i ghtho
ns tancy o f l o ve tos tar)
us e & no r th
It is the star to every wand'ring bark*, &l i nes
i ts s5i gni
Image o f death (age, & fi7)cance i n
“w” Alliteration “o” Assonance s ho w i ng di r ecti o ns duri ng
mi nutes & ho ur s ). Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. s to rms and i mmo vabi l i ty.
Grim Reaper
Pers o ni fi es “Ti me” Personification Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Enjambment
(G ri m Reaper) w ho
“c” Alliteration “o” Assonance
co l l ects the beauty Grim's scythe The bendi ng o f Ti me' s s i ckl e
o f yo uth (“ro s y l i ps Within his bending sickle's compass come; des tro ys yo uth, but canno t
and cheeks ”). al ter l o ve.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
Q uatrai n 3 (l i nes 9-12) Sum up the po i nt o f the
End of time
po em: l o ve do es n' t change
But bears it out even to the edge of doom, o ver ti me.
If this be error and upon me proved,
Rhymi ng co upl et (l i nes 13-14):
i r o ni cal /parado x i cal , becaus e
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
ti me i s , i n fact, the enemy o f
l o ve. Images o f s ea j o ur neys ,
s to r ms , navi gati o n by s tar s ,
l i ghtho us e, effecti ve us e o f
“co mpas s ”.
*bark – ship
Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break/punctuated pause.
Paradox: a contradiction in terms; words with an implication that is opposite to their meaning.
Lexical polysemy: The coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase.
, What is the poem about?
What is the subject of the poem?
The speaker's strong resolve to love in the face of difficulties.
Who is speaking?
1st person narrator.
What is the location/setting of the poem?
Images/Setting of sea journeys, storms, navigation by stars, lighthouse, effective use of “compass”.
Themes and messages of the poem:
The speaker's strong resolve to love in the face of difficulties.
The brightness of youth may disappear as old age advances, but love will continue even till death.
Love and time in the poem:
The poem seeks to resist or fight love's enemy – time – which is ultimately the enemy of life itself as
the force of ageing, of falling off (out) of love and the bringer of death.
The speaker makes it clear that he is aware of such “impediments” that could stand in the way of
love, that could cause love to “alter”. He cannot allow such a thought to cross his mind because of his
total conviction and understanding that love is unconditional, pure and complete and transcend time
and even death. This conviction is expressed in his use of 1 st person singular pronouns - “me” (line 1)
and “I” (line 14).
True love doesn't change: even if there may be reasons for doing so, it remains ever and
unwaveringly constant.
Attitudes and feelings in the poem:
Emotions and feelings of the speaker:
The speaker is confident, certain, passionate and self-assured throughout the poem.
Tone of the poem:
The poet/speaker uses a tone of confidence, certainty and self-belief throughout the poem to put
across his message.
“Let me not...” (line 1)
Love is not...” (line 2)
“Or bends with the remover...” (line 4)
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