Explication of Sonnet 116
Name: ____________________________________ Period; ___________ Date: _______________
1. Interpret the meaning of quatrain one and paraphrase this in the space below.
True love is like a marriage of minds and is not affected by hindrances. True love does not
change because of changes nor does it end.
2. Interpret the meaning of quatrain two and paraphrase this in the space below.
True love does not change but survives hard times and is never weakened. It is the guiding star
and its value cannot be known.
3. Interpret the meaning of quatrain three and paraphrase this in the space below.
True love is not changed by time and by physical aging. It does not change over hours or weeks
and lasts until the end of time.
4. Interpret the meaning of the concluding quatrain and paraphrase this in the space below.
If I am wrong in my assessment of what true love is, then I have never written nor no man has
ever loved.
5. List and explain any metaphors used in the poem.
Metaphors for love: line 1: marriage of true minds Line 5 – ever fixed mark Line 9 – Time’s
fool
Metaphor for death: sickle’s compass come
6. State the poem’s central idea or theme in a single sentence.
True love lasts forever. It does not end because of hardships or the passage of time or because of
your lover growing old.
7. Explain any of the following word music used in the poem: alliteration, assonance, consonance.
Alliteration: Line 4 : remover to remove Line 8: Whose worth’s Line 10: Compass come
Consonance: Line 1: Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Line 6 – That looks on tempests and is never shaken
Line 9 – Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
8. There are two allusions used in this sonnet. List and fully explain one.
Line 7 – is a reference to the north star guiding wandering ships
Line 12 – A reference to Doomsday.