2. Summary/content
The sonnet is trying to define the meaning of
love. It describes how true love can never be
broken and that it never dies. Shakespeare also
claims that love does not alter through time so
love is eternal and doesn’t fade or disappear,
even in old age. He also states at the end of the
sonnet that if anyone were to prove him wrong
he will take back all the words written in the
sonnet as if they never existed, this proves that
he is confident that love is ever lasting.
3. Language
The poem used repeated words “love is not love”
and “remover to remove, this shows that the paired
words are like love couples. Shakespeare also uses
natural metaphors “looks on tempests and is never
shaken.” this shows love as an essential part of life
as are many things in nature. The first two lines
show the Christian views on marriage and how they
stress the idea of idea of love “the marriage of two
minds” should be without barriers or obstacles, this
could be interpreted as if love is true it should be
without fault. There are ideas of love enduring
throughout the sonnet “love alters not”
4. Imagery
From the beginning of the sonnet there is the idea of
marriage present. However the marriage that
Shakespeare describes is not a contract of marriage it is
one of “true minds” suggesting a deep understanding of
two equals. In the time of Shakespeare though women in
a marriage weren’t equal to men, they were practically
controlled by the men of the relationship so this sonnet
doesn’t conform to the views of marriage in the time.
The poems central metaphor is the one of love being
presented as a star; specifically the north star as it never
changes its position in the sky. The north star would guide
sailors when they’re in open waters so this could
therefore connote that love guides us through life.
5. Structure
The sonnet is consists of 14 lines, and is split
into 3 stanzas with 4 lines each and a 2 line
couplet. The poem follows a regular pattern and
a conventional structure that a lot of older
poetry writers followed, the poem ends with a
turn and the mood of the poem is changed with
it.
6. Meanings and Morals
The main message of this sonnet is that if love is
true then it is ageless and priceless. This is
shown by the fact that they refer to love being a
star. Another main message of the sonnet is that
marriage should be between two equals
because if it is then it will last and love will form
in unexpected ways. This gives a message to the
people of the Shakespeare's time to marry an
equal and not treat your wife as your property.
