Uncovering Worth Unknown: The Constancy of Love in Sonnet 116

Arguably the most famed writer of all time, William Shakespeare became famous for his plays and for his sonnets. These sonnets discuss everything from the importance of children to the troubles of rival poets, and have even been divided into two distinct subgroups—those of the “Fair Youth” and those of the “Dark Lady”—because of the differences between the two. However, a common theme that runs throughout nearly all of them is that of love. Illustrating and exemplifying love, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 provides a classic example of this theme, as Shakespeare both defines love and holds it up as a paragon of all things good. In Sonnet 116, or “Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” Shakespeare uses personification and metaphors to convey his idea that true love is unchanging and thus never ends.

William Shakespeare, the author of Sonnet 116, was born in April of 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was six years older than him, and then is recorded to have begun his acting and playwriting career in 1592 when Henry VI was first produced and performed (Branam). Most notably writing plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays altogether, according to general consensus (Gibson). Also notable, though, were his sonnets. Shakespeare began writing his sonnets at approximately the same time as his completion of Romeo and Juliet. One such sonnet is Sonnet 116, or “Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” which is found in the “Fair Youth” section of his sonnets (Branam).

Shakespeare’s famed Sonnet 116 opens with the phrase, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments” (Shakespeare 1-2). This line ...

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