William Shakespeare sonnet 116

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Eng 102_002
2/13/2018
William Shakespeare Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare composed Sonnet 116 in 1609. The sonnets he wrote at the time to his male friends indicate that he was troubled by the decisions he was willing to make in a time where marriage was centered on the obedience of the unequal wife to the husband. The seventh-century laws were greatly influenced by the Church. The Church designed the law to govern each partner’s lifestyle and values, including their moral aspect. Times as such were meant for strategic alliances to aid the spread of religion. The seventh century required that marriage took place in the church; it is only under such that the official nature of the laws got emphasized. Marriage was a lifetime commitment; there was no way out. However, adultery was a ground for divorce, but the penalty was death. Shakespeare encompasses multiple languages in his writing; he addresses and describes marriage as not a symbol of love but, as the star, unchanging and not a Time’s fool. Shakespeare develops the idea that to experience marriage to its fullest, is also to approach the inevitability of reality, and that love and time are thus unconditionally intertwined. Shakespeare conveys to readers that marriage is not the focus of owning marriage for securing a political or economic advantage. Shakespeare’s use of literary devices is effective in developing a rich and ambiguous view of marriage in which the beauty of life gets represented at its fullest and the inevitability of sorrows construed by social structure.

Shakespeare uses irony to develop the contrasting and ambiguous views of marriage. In lines 1-4, he states that marriage seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is amusing as a result. Marriage is perfect, unchanging and does not admit to hindrances. The strength inherent in marriage does not adjust to changing of a person or bends. While illustrating love as perfect and unchanging, Shakespeare shows his idealistic perception. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is the decision to love. The stand taken by Shakespeare shows how the Church and the State made it a goal to own marriage, and allowed a center of intrigue and betrayal construed by society.
Shakespeare uses metaphors to develop a contrasting and ambiguous view of love. In lines 5-7, he impressively explains that love is a ‘star’ which it is not literally applicable. Love is a star that guides those who are lost and not to be harmed in any disturbed state of the environment. While illustrating love as a star, which is a fixed luminous point shows how massively it’s held in the sky day or night. Stars cannot be touched or felt but is a compass that can direct us when we get lost. One can always expect a star to be a star in sense. However, the expectations of marriage set up by the Church would not do such a thing. Only forced a couple on a path divided by one’s gender and the law.
Shakespeare uses personification to develop contrasting and ambiguous views of marriage. In lines 9-12, he employs figurative language to represent love in a way that it appeals to our physical senses. Love is not conditioned according to time but to the end of time. For Shakespeare to illustrate love with strong personification, it gives love authority and impeccable character. Through the manner in which love gets deployed, it demonstrates how powerful love is, and how it can surpass the end of time. The Church might have every law governing marriage but it is under no bondage. The inability of the church conveys to readers that there is no authority that can control love like a human being. Yet, the church had fashioned love to follow rules which have a definite start date and end date.
Poets use the sonnet form to examine the tension that exists between the two elements. The Volta which is the point in the sonnet where there is a change from one rhyme pattern to another that signals a change in subject matter. The power of love is not forced and it should be entered with trust and understanding. As a reader, one should not cease to exclude this judgment of marriage and capacity of love. William showed not only what love is but what it is not. It did not try to sugar coat from experience. He displayed loved without a gender dominance or ideology. It is vital; therefore, that we heed the warnings and do our best to listen with understanding to keep loved ones knowledgeable. The purpose of marriage should be reliant on the intangibles as Shakespeare stated. One may have companionship, stability, love, and family, but end in divorce. Even though Shakespeare did not mention the Church and its practice he gives one the representation not to believe what they have been told.

Work Cited
Everitt, Lauren. “Ten Key Moments in the History of Marriage.” BBC News, BBC.
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 116” ENG102_002 D2L, Farrier Kimberly, 2018, D2L.