Sonnet 116 Flashcards
‘Admit impediments’
Links to Christian weddings emphasise that nothing should stay in the way of true love. This is further shown through caesura.
‘Love is not love’
This repetition emphasises the longevity of love.
‘Alters when it alteration finds’
Polyptoton shows how love will change but will always be permanent.
‘Remover…remove’
Shows the durability of love as it will not be removed.
‘Ever-fixed mark’
Likens it to a lighthouse showing how love guides people on the right path.
‘That looks on tempests’
Metaphor shows how love is powerful and can never be broken.
‘The star to every wandering bark’
Bark represents a boat which links to the light house showing how it will always guide you.
‘Love’s not Time’s fool’
Suggests that love is not affected and the capitalisation of Time personifies them as enemies in Combat.
‘rosy lips and cheeks’
Beauty is affected by time but not love.
‘sickle’s compass come’
The sibilance and alliteration emphasise the sinister tone and the image of death created by the word ‘sickle’.
‘the edge of doom’
This is juxtaposed with the longevity of love, which highlight the brevity of life.
What does the final rhyming couplet show…
Offers a challenge to the reader through the rhetorical statements and hyperbole. Overall he uses language that shows his certainty of love.
Mostly written in iambic pentameter…
Mimics a heartbeat, which shows the constancy of love.
