Summary ENG1501 EXAM PACK 2021Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds” to a traditional form of poems which are known
as the Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem,
traditionally written in iambic pentameter – that is, in lines ten syllables long with acc...
summary eng1501 exam pack 2021let me not to the marriage of true minds” to a traditional form of poems which are known as the elizabethan or shakespearean sonnet a sonnet is a fourteen line lyric poe
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ENG1501 FOUNDATIONS IN LITERARY STUDIES EXAM PACK (2014 -2016)
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 MEMORANDUM
QUESTION 1: Seasons come to pass (Moffett and Mphahlele, eds.) – Let me not to the
marriage of the true minds (William Shakespeare)
MODEL ESSAY/ ANSWER
“Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds” to a traditional form of poems which are known
as the Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem,
traditionally written in iambic pentameter – that is, in lines ten syllables long with accents
faking on every second syllable. The Shakespearean sonnet is divided into four parts. The first
three parts are each four lines long and are known as quatrians, rhymed abab. The fourth part
is called the couplet and is rhymed cc. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a
sequence of metaphors or ideas one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either summary
or a new take on the preceding images or ideas. In Shakespearean sonnets, the rhyming couplet
or the line of reasoning has a special function of wrapping up the argument presented in the
poem. In this case, the persona’s declaration, “Love is not love … the edge of doom” is further
confirmed in the rhyming couplet. Here the idea of genuine love is placed in context – the
relation of the poet himself to true love. He says: “If this be error and upon me proved/ I never
writ nor no man ever loved.”
The persona begins with a most ceremonial tone in the first lines of the poem. He expresses
awe and firm conviction regarding the power of intellectual or spiritual love. He says:
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments.”
The speaker argues that the ideal romantic love is one that conjoins body and soul. For true
love surpasses the corporeal, the “rosy lips and cheeks” and the temporal, the “brief hours and
weeks.” It remains constant and eternal “even to the edge of doom.”
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Furthermore, there is an earnestness to the tone of the speaker as he expresses this profound
sentiment. By and large, the poet uses a tone of confidence, certainty and self-belief throughout
the poem to put across his message. The passionate and self-assured tone permeates the whole
sonnet. This tone is evident in the phrases and expressions such as: “Let me not …,” “Love is
not …,” “Or bends with the remover …,” “O, no! It is …,” “Love alters not …” The tone helps
us to realise that the speaker completely believes that love is the only eternal and indomitable
force that overcomes and overwhelms all barriers, and that good and wholesome love is the
key to overcoming mortality.
The overall meaning, theme or idea developed in Sonnet 116 is the theme of the eternity of true
love through an elaborate and intricate cascade of images. Shakespeare states that love is
essentially a mental relationship and the central property of love is truth. This truth basically
alludes to fidelity and fidelity proceeds from and is anchored in the mind. The objective tone
and impersonal language of the opening quatrain reinforces this theme. This kind of love is as
far removed from the level of mere sensation as any human activity could be. Like all ideal
forms, it operates on the level of abstract intellect or of the soul. Hence, it is immune to the
physical, emotional or behavioural impediments that threatens lesser love.
In line 1 – 2 the persona says: “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments.”
According to these two lines, true soul mates – those with loyalty to each other should never
admit or allow anything to hinder their love or come between them.
The love Shakespeare describes does not change no matter what difficulties and storms work
against it. The speaker in line 2 – 3 says, “Love is not love/ Which alters when it alteration
finds.
“O, no! It is an ever-fixed mark/ That looks on tempests and is never shaken” (Line 5-6). From
these lines we get the idea of a lighthouse. No matter how great the storm, the lighthouse is the
constant point of trust that a sailor may come back to in a storm. Shakespeare compares a
healthy, loving relationship to a lighthouse providing stability and encouraging light. Also the
strong couple faces storms and does not run from them, realising storms die out. When
weathered, storms are a catalyst for making us stronger.
True love “is the star to every wandering bark.” Before modern navigational techniques were
developed, sailors would use the stars for navigation. They could trust the stars to be consistent
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every day. Here, Shakespeare compares that constant, dependable star to a lover. This is the
basis of trust. True lovers completely trust each other and know their love will stay consistent
Although Sonnet 116 has plenty metaphors there are no similes at all in this poem because of
the absence of the words “like,” “as” and “resembles” every time the speaker of the poem
makes a comparison. For example, when the poet states that love “is an ever-fixed mark,” he
is comparing love to a lighthouse (an ever-fixed mark) by actually stating that love is the
lighthouse not that love is like a lighthouse.
Overall, the figures of speech in the poem are metaphors comparing symbols such as a star that
can be used as a guide through life and love. The images and metaphors contained in the sonnet
effectively establish the idea that true love is ever-lasting. The first metaphor in line 5 compares
love with “an ever-fixed mark” such as a mountain used as a landmark to find one’s way. Line
6 refers to this “mark” as one that would look on storms or tempests and still not moved.
Additionally, the storms represent trials, tribulations or crises through which people travel or
encounter in life. Then in line 7 the speaker identifies the mark as a star that cannot be shaken
by anything earthly but also has an unidentifiable worth.
In line 8, the speaker claims that, “Love’s not Time’s fool.” This phrase use personification for
both Love and Time which gives each an identity to which the reader can more likely relate.
The poet’s use of personification, that is writing about Love and Time as though they had
human qualities gives the sonnet great power, thereby contributing to a greater understanding
of its theme. Love and Time are now pitted against each other as if for battle, but the speaker
says that true love will not lose against time. Personification is used to help the reader see how
people have claimed that Time is and excuse for failing love, but as a matter of fact, true love
would not fade over time.
At a personal level the writer of this essay strongly share the same notions of love expressed in
Sonnet 116’. True love in reality should not be affected by change, especially the physical
change in the beloved. True love, like the love of God is constant and immutable. In other
words no matter how much the physical appearance of the beloved may fade over time, true
love does not fade.
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