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Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds William ..., Study notes of Poetry

Love and time in the poem: The poem seeks to resist or fight love's enemy – time – which is ultimately the enemy of life itself as the force of ageing, ...

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Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
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 r e move .
O, no! It is an ever-fix è d mark 5
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the st a r to every w a nd'ring b ar k *,
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 proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
*bark – ship
Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break/punctuated pause.
Paradox: a contradiction in terms; words with an implication that is opposite to their meaning.
Lexical polysemy: The coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase.
Change
Chan ge s t he t one : s hif ts
fr om n egat i ve to po si tiv e . Permanent
Two -fo l d me anin g (e x ampl e
of lexi cal po lys emy ): 1)
No rth s tar & 2 ) Li ght ho use
(l i ne 7)
Storms
“c” Alliteration “o” Assonance
Grim Reaper
Grim's scythe
Im age of de ath (ag e,
mi nu tes & h o ur s).
Su m u p th e po int o f the
po em: l ove d oes n't c hange
ov er ti me.
Rhym ing co uple t (l ine s 1 3 -1 4):
ir oni cal/ para do x i cal , be cau s e
ti me i s, i n fa ct , th e ene my o f
lo v e .
Sh akes pear ean/ Eli z ab et han s onn e t: 14 l i ne dev i de d i nto 3
qua tr ain s o f 4 l i ne s e ach, en di ng i n a r hym in g coupl et.
Quat rai n 1 (l ine s 1 -4)
Quat rai n 2 (l ine s 5 -8)
Quat rai n 3 (l ine s 9 -12 )
Lo ve n e ve r be nd s w ith t i me
Th e be ndi ng o f T ime's s i ckl e
de s tr oys yo uth, but ca nn o t
al te r l o ve .
Th eme : The s peak er 's s t r ong
re solv e to l ove i n th e face of
di ff icul tie s. T he b ri ghtne s s o f
yo uth ma y di sapp ea r as ol d
age a dv ance s , b ut l ove w ill
co nt inue ev e n ti ll de at h.
Me t aph o r : l i ke ns the
co ns tancy o f l o ve to
li nes 5 & 7)
Me t aph o r : l i ke ns the
co ns tanc y o f l o ve to l i ne s
5 & 7 , b o th s ugge s tin g
th e i de a of the c ompa s s
(l i gh th o us e & n o rth s tar )
& i ts si gnifi ca nce i n
sho w i ng di rec ti ons dur i ng
sto rms a nd i mmov abil ity.
Enjambment
Enjambment
Personification
“w” Alliteration
Ton e of co nf idence , cert aint y,
sel f-be l i ef & pas si o na te
th r ough o ut t he p o em .
Obs t acl es t o l o ve : “r emo ve ,
“i mp ed i me nt s”,te mp es ts ”,
“doo m”.
Im age s o f s e a j our ney s ,
sto rms , na vi gati o n by s tar s ,
li ghth o us e, e ffe ct i ve u s e o f
“com pass”.
End of time
Me t aph o r f or the u ni on o f two
pe opl e' s m i nds (m en t al l y uni ted ).
Known as a ship in Shakespearean times
Per soni fie s Tim e”
(G r i m R eape r ) w ho
co l lec ts the be auty
of yo ut h (“r osy l ips
and che eks ”) .
“o” Assonance
“e” Assonance
“a” Assonance
“o” Assonance
pf3
pf4
pf5

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Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds William Shakespeare (1564-1616) 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-fixèd mark 5 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 proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

  • bark – ship Enjambment: The running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break/punctuated pause. Paradox: a contradiction in terms; words with an implication that is opposite to their meaning. Lexical polysemy: The coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or phrase. Change C hanges the to ne: s hi fts fr o m negati ve to po s i ti ve. (^) Permanent Two -fo l d meani ng (ex ampl e o f l ex i cal po l ys emy): 1) No rth s tar & 2) Li ght ho us e (l i ne 7) Storms “c” Alliteration “o” Assonance Grim Reaper Grim's scythe Image o f death (age, mi nutes & ho ur s ). Sum up the po i nt o f the po em: l o ve do es n' t change o ver ti me. Rhymi ng co upl et (l i nes 13-14): i r o ni cal /parado x i cal , becaus e ti me i s , i n fact, the enemy o f l o ve. Shakes pearean/El i z abethan s o nnet: 14 l i ne devi ded i nto 3 quatrai ns o f 4 l i nes each, endi ng i n a r hymi ng co upl et. Q uatrai n 1 (l i nes 1-4) Q uatrai n 2 (l i nes 5-8) Q uatrai n 3 (l i nes 9-12) Lo ve never bends w i th ti me The bendi ng o f Ti me' s s i ckl e des tro ys yo uth, but canno t al ter l o ve. Theme: The s peaker ' s s tr o ng r es o l ve to l o ve i n the face o f di ffi cul ti es. The bri ghtnes s o f yo uth may di s appear as o l d age advances , but l o ve wi l l co nti nue even ti l l death. Metapho r: l i kens the co ns tancy o f l o ve to l i nes 5 & 7) Metapho r : l i kens the co ns tancy o f l o ve to l i nes 5 & 7, bo th s ugges ti ng the i dea o f the co mpas s (l i ghtho us e & no r th s tar) & i ts s i gni fi cance i n s ho w i ng di r ecti o ns duri ng s to rms and i mmo vabi l i ty. Enjambment Personification Enjambment “w” Alliteration To ne o f co nfi dence, cer tai nty, s el f-bel i ef & pas s i o nate thro ugho ut the po em. O bs tacl es to l o ve: “r emo ve”, “i mpedi ments ”, “tempes ts ”, “do o m”. Images o f s ea j o ur neys , s to r ms , navi gati o n by s tar s , l i ghtho us e, effecti ve us e o f “co mpas s ”. End of time Metapho r fo r the uni o n o f tw o peo pl e' s mi nds (mental l y uni ted). Known as a ship in Shakespearean times Pers o ni fi es “Ti me” (G ri m Reaper) w ho co l l ects the beauty o f yo uth (“ro s y l i ps and cheeks ”). “o” Assonance “e” Assonance “a” Assonance “o” Assonance

What is the poem about? What is the subject of the poem?  The speaker's strong resolve to love in the face of difficulties. Who is speaking?  1st^ person narrator. What is the location/setting of the poem?  Images/Setting of sea journeys, storms, navigation by stars, lighthouse, effective use of “compass”. Themes and messages of the poem:  The speaker's strong resolve to love in the face of difficulties.  The brightness of youth may disappear as old age advances, but love will continue even till death. Love and time in the poem:  The poem seeks to resist or fight love's enemy – time – which is ultimately the enemy of life itself as the force of ageing, of falling off (out) of love and the bringer of death.  The speaker makes it clear that he is aware of such “impediments” that could stand in the way of love, that could cause love to “alter”. He cannot allow such a thought to cross his mind because of his total conviction and understanding that love is unconditional, pure and complete and transcend time and even death. This conviction is expressed in his use of 1st^ person singular pronouns - “me” (line 1) and “I” (line 14).  True love doesn't change: even if there may be reasons for doing so, it remains ever and unwaveringly constant. Attitudes and feelings in the poem: Emotions and feelings of the speaker:  The speaker is confident, certain, passionate and self-assured throughout the poem. Tone of the poem:  The poet/speaker uses a tone of confidence, certainty and self-belief throughout the poem to put across his message. “Let me not...” (line 1) Love is not...” (line 2) “Or bends with the remover...” (line 4)

Poetic devices:  The poem is held together by the use of alliteration, assonance, personification and images. These poetic devices give the sonnet great power, contributing to a greater understanding of its theme. Images that suggest a sea journey:  Images of journeys, storms, navigation by stars, the effect of the word “compass”.  “an ever fixèd mark” and “a star to every wand'ring bark”. Both suggesting the idea of the compass (lighthouse) & its significance in showing directions during storms and immovability. Personal response to the poem (how do I feel, what impact does the poem have on me):  YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE!

Questions from knowledge4africa:

Explain the idea that “Love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds,”

• If the people alter (change) – such as in growing ill, aging, accident damage – that should not

change (“alter”) the attitude of love. How can love “bends with the remover to remove”?

• There are forces out there – for example ill health and old age - which aim at destroying the love

and affection between two people.

• It is not true love when one partner or the other cooperates with those forces and help them to

destroy the love. Why is there a diacritical mark over the “e” in “fixèd”?

• The sonnet has 10 syllables per line. The word “fixed” without the diacritical mark would give

you one syllable, and the line would then consist of only 9 syllables.

• To increase the line to 10 syllables, the diacritical mark has to be added and “fix – ed” is

transformed into 2 syllables.