Sonnet 116 (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William Shakespeare
- First Published: 1609
- Type of Work: Sonnet
- Genres: Poetry, Sonnet
- Subjects: Love or romance, Marriage, Spiritual life or spirituality, Death or dying, Rites or ceremonies, Time, Mind and body, Commitment
The Poem
Sonnet 116 is generally considered one of the finest love poems ever written. In this sonnet, William Shakespeare raised the theme of romantic love to the status of high philosophy. At a time when love between man and woman was not often recognized as essentially other than a form of family obligation, Shakespeare spiritualized it as the motivator of the highest level of human action. Love of that kind has since become the most sought-after human experience.
The poem is a regular English sonnet of fourteen lines arranged in three quatrains and a concluding...
[The entire page is 1568 words long]
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