Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare. 10 GCSE exam essay quotes, fully analysed for language, structure and form. There’s even a line-by-line translation and more! – perfect for your GCSE exam or essay!
Congratulations! You hit the GCSE analysis jackpot! Keep reading… here’s everything you need to smash your GCSE or iGCSE English Literature exam…
What is the poem about?
Shakespeare depicts true love as an enormous force, even bigger and greater than time. It acts like gravity (although in the 1590s Newton hadn’t given gravity a name yet) to draw people together like a lost tiny boat (“bark”), drifting on a sea of loneliness.
What is the purpose?
Shakespeare wants to create a more magical version of love (that gets audiences all flustered and hot under the collar). Most people didn’t marry for love in Shakespeare’s day, instead, they arranged marriages that united local families for increased wealth, status and power.
So what if you’re heartbroken about a breakup – don’t worry! It wasn’t true love and that true love will find you and guide you to it. That’s nice and easy then!
What is the message of Sonnet 116?
Shakespeare depicts true love as an enormous force, even bigger and greater than time. It acts like gravity (although in the 1590s Newton hadn’t given gravity a name yet) to draw people together like a lost tiny boat (“bark”), drifting on a sea of loneliness.
LINE-BY-LINE TRANSLATION: Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
Click on the arrow under each poem stanza to reveal the translation. Each matching line is numbered to help you.
TIP: try to work out how and why the translation is connected to the original line. Notice what words have been swapped. This will help you in the future when you have to understand unseen poems in your GCSE exam.
Sonnet 116 by William 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 wand’ring 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 prov’d,
- I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.
Translation
- I do not believe that when 2 people love each other selflessly
- That their true love can be stopped. Love is not true love
- If it changes when life changes happen,
- Or weakens against a force that tries to end it.
- No! True love is a permanent symbol
- That tough times can never destroy;
- True love guides lost ships (troubled lovers),
- True love has a mysterious value, but we know its value is high.
- True love is forever; it can’t be judged by time, even though youth
- Will will age within the sweep of time’s blade;
- True love does not change in mere short periods,
- But stays strong even till the end of all time.
- If I am wrong about true love and this is proven to me
- Then I am not a writer nor has anyone ever loved ‘truly’.
IMAGE: “Love…the star to every wand’ring bark”
William Shakespeare – Sonnet 116
Grade 9 GCSE Language Analysis Paragraph Example
Here’s a language quote and a structure quote from our quotes table below written up as paragraphs to show you how amazing your answers could be if you use the information in this guide.
GCSE ESSAY: How does William Shakespeare use language in Sonnet 116?
Example Exam or Essay Paragraph
In the poem Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare presents love through the metaphor of an “ever-fixed mark” which implies true love is a permanent symbol or sign to the world of a union between two people. Through this suggestion of permanence, Shakespeare also explores the idea that true love is fated to happen. Furthermore, the emotive adjective “ever” suggests that two people are deeply connected forever – a key idea that is repeated throughout Sonnet 116.
Shakespeare also uses the form of a sonnet to present the relationship problems that only true love can conquer through its 3 quatrains that build a logical, measured and persuasive argument. The first quatrain introduces the idea of true love as unchanging and other love as temporary. Whereas the second depicts the strength and power of love through ocean-based metaphor. The third emphasises love’s power and scale using time leading to the poet’s final conclusion designed to convince readers about the standard of love they should aspire to.
The rhyming couplet in the final 2 lines of Sonnet 116, “prov’d… lov’d” – which means ‘proved…loved’- draws attention to Shakespeare’s conclusion. The poet uses irony in “I never writ”- which means ‘I was never a writer’ – because Shakespeare was famous for writing during his lifetime, the idea that he had never written anything would seem ridiculous to readers. They would wrongly reason that because it is a true statement that he is a famous (and brilliant) writer, it should also be true his ideas about love must be true. However, just because he is a great writer does not mean he is an authority on love – Shakespeare uses a logical fallacy to trick readers into believing his ideas.
Right, now it’s time for you to get your hands on all those beautiful GCSE quotes…
LANGUAGE QUOTES about the poem Sonnet 116.
| EVDENCE | ANALYSIS |
| Love is not love | Repetition: “Love”– emphasises that if love can change, it is not True Love. Therefore there are different levels of love. |
| alters when it alteration finds | Personification: “love…finds” – true love is presented as an external force. Therefore, according to Shakespeare, people are not in control of true love. He believes true love guides lovers (which we will see later). Repetition and shifting meaning of “alter” – which means ‘to change’; “alteration” means a problem or challenge that a relationship might face. True love does not change when changes happen. |
| ever-fixed mark | Metaphor: “fixed mark”– true love is a permanent symbol or sign to the world. Shakespeare explores the idea that true love is fated to happen. Emotive adjective: “ever” – The key idea that two people are deeply connected forever is repeated throughout. |
| looks on tempests and is never shaken | Repetition of Personification: of love “looks” True love is in control and will protect lovers through troubles. This suggests those in true love cannot break up (if they do, it is not true love). Metaphor: “tempests”– which means ‘storms’ -refers to temporary dark angry moments in a relationship will pass. Show Not Tell: “shaken”– love is never worried or intimidated – The poet implies that, because true love is permanent, there is no need to fear challenges. Shakespeare explores the idea that true love should be a source of hope in the darkest moments. |
| star to every wand’ring bark | Metaphor: “Star”- used to guide ships before modern technology existed – Shakespeare suggests true love acts as a guide for society. If people trust and follow it, they will reach their desired destination of happiness. Metaphor: “bark”– a small boat – This creates a poetic image of single people as tiny helpless boats drifting on a vast ocean of loneliness. The guiding star of true love offers hope and guidance. Pun: “Wand’ring” – as in ‘to wander’ which means to roam or drift away – this implies the small boats could symbolise two things. Firstly, single people travelling through life aimlessly, suggesting that true love gives life purpose otherwise it is incomplete. Secondly, Shakespeare could be referring to lovers in relationships that are perhaps drifting apart – if they are truly in love, they will find a way back to each other. |
| Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken | Metaphor: “worth’s unknown”– people cannot comprehend the sheer size of true love’s “worth” though we do know it is high. Pun: “heights”- can be interpreted in two ways: True love has high value or true love creates emotional ‘highs.’ Male pronoun: “his”- presents love as a male force. This is perhaps inspired by the Roman god Cupid (the god of love and desire). Shakespeare chose not to use the female pronoun ‘she’ which could have been linked to Eros’ mother, Venus the goddess of love. This could suggest that he wanted to emphasise the stereotypical male traits of strength to reinforce the power of true love to protect and guide in a fatherly way. |
| Love’s not Time’s fool | Personification: “Time”– Time is also presented as a powerful external force that impacts lives. “Time” is often regarded as the most powerful force of all because without it nothing would exist. Personification: “fool”– this means that Time cannot make Love age, wither and die. |
If you want to learn more about analysing LANGUAGE, visit our incredible GCSE English Language Analysis | EASY Grade 9 Guide
FORM AND STRUCTURE QUOTES about the poem Sonnet 116.
| FORM: Sonnet | A sonnet has 14 lines. These are divided into 3 quatrains (of 4 lines) followed by a final rhyming couplet (of two lines). 3 quatrains: develop the theme of true love in a logical and structured manner. Each quatrain in Sonnet 116 builds on the previous one. Quatrain 1: introduces the idea of true love as unchanging and other love as temporary Quatrain 2: depicts the strength and power of love through ocean-based metaphors Quatrain 3: emphasises love’s power and scale using time. |
| Rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG | The poem’s rhyme ends with 2 rhyming lines (GG) that emphasise the final statement. This creates a persuasive conclusion about Shakespeare’s ideas about true love. See next section: |
| If this be error…prov’d… I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d | Rhyming Couplet’s final 2 lines of a Sonnet: “prov’d… lov’d” – which means ‘proved…loved’- draws attention to the conclusion of Sonnet 116. Irony: “I never writ”– which means ‘I was never a writer’ – Shakespeare was famous for writing during his lifetime. Therefore the idea that he had never written anything would seem ridiculous to readers. They would reason that because it is a true statement that he is a famous (and brilliant) writer, it should also mean his ideas about love must be true (but, of course, it doesn’t). Just because he is a great writer does not mean he is an authority on love – it is a trick of persuasion known as a logical fallacy. |
IMAGE: “Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle’s compass come; Love alters not”
William Shakespeare – Sonnet 116
CONTEXT and Grade 9 ‘GOLD IDEAS’ in Sonnet 116.
| True love versus other lesser forms of ‘love.’ | In Sonnet 116, Shakespeare suggests that true love is separate from lesser forms of love such as infatuation (where one person is obsessed with the idea and looks of another) and other relationships that fail. It’s important to read this poem with the understanding that whenever Shakespeare mentions love he’s referring to True Love. Otherwise, it can get a little confusing! |
| True love will overcome challenges because it lasts forever. | Sonnet 116 claims true love does not end because of life’s tough challenges. Sonnet 116 is full of imagery that depicts true love overcoming storms and even time itself. “Never shaken” implies that lovers should never doubt the power of True Love implying that true love is a source of hope in the darkest times. |
| True love is the purpose of life. | In Sonnet 116, his description of the wandering small boats on the ocean of loneliness, Shakespeare implies that people are lost and drifting aimlessly whenever they are not in true love. This also suggests that love gives life purpose and that there is no reason to live without love. Biologically, the purpose of all life on Earth is to procreate (reproduce). However, with many people in modern society choosing to be single and instead focus on intellectual accomplishments (rather than having a family), Shakespeare’s views may seem dated to some. |
| If a relationship fails then it is not true love. | This is a clever one. Shakespeare appears to have found a way to give heartbroken lovers hope for the future. He implies that a relationship could not have been true love if it failed. This means true love is still waiting to be found even if somebody thought their ex-partner was the magical ‘one’ destined to be with them forever. Perhaps this is where the saying, ‘there’s plenty more fish in the sea’ comes from – you just need to jump into your “bark” and grab another! |
| True love is the greatest force in the universe. | Sonnet 116, also presents true love as the single biggest force in a person’s life. Shakespeare cleverly juxtaposes love and the concept of time to imply that somehow love will not be worn down as time passes. |
| Context: Most people did not marry for love. | In Elizabeth in England, marrying for love was not a common practice. Instead, most people had arranged marriages of convenience that aimed to improve the power status and finances of all the families involved. Therefore Shakespeare’s idea of romantic love as an all-powerful consuming force, written in the stars of fate where two people are destined to be together is captivating to audiences of his time because it makes them feel important in a hopelessly vast universe. Love of this kind makes people feel as if a higher power, such as God, has a plan for them. |
If you want to learn more about analysing STRUCTURE, visit our incredible GCSE English Structure Analysis | EASY Grade 9 Guide
Need to learn about analysing Form? Visit our incredible GCSE English Form Analysis | EASY Beginner’s Grade 9 Guide.
Now, back to this guide…
IMAGE: “If this be error and upon me prov’d, I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.”
William Shakespeare – Sonnet 116
Possible GCSE English Literature Exam Questions
In each case below, don’t forget to explore language (techniques and keywords), structure and form of Out Out- to create a dramatic image. Some exam boards may require you to discuss context too (see our notes above) – make sure you check with your teacher or on the examination board website in the specification.
| How does Shakespeare explore love in Sonnet 116? | Discuss the portrayal of true love and how it is separate from lesser forms of love also, that it is enduring and unchanging as well as a powerful force that is even greater than time itself. Simply use the tables in this guide to find language and structure quotes that convey these ideas! |
| Examine how Shakespeare uses imagery in Sonnet 116 to depict true love. | Imagery is the group name for techniques that create powerful images. Use the tables in this guide to find quotes that contain metaphors, similes, personification etc in Sonnet 116 and their effect on the poem’s overall meaning. |
| How does Shakespeare explore the time in Sonnet 116? | This is a mean question and has come up before – it may come up in your exam board! Focus on quotes that depict time but also how it relates to love. It would be a great idea to explain in your introduction that true love is the main focus of the poem. Also explore how Time is personified and then used as a foil to exaggerate the qualities of Love. |
