Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds
By: William Shakespeare
1st quatrain
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.
The first and second line “Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments” it includes the word marriage and to the word marriage, it also contains the word impediment means a hindrance or obstruction also, the word impediment is lifted straight from the official Church of England wedding service (you might recognize its modern equivalent, the whole "speak now or forever hold your peace" section of weddings) but it is not really talking about the actual marriage. “Marriage of true minds” is actually a metaphor of true love. It is about the commitment of two people of their love and the willingness to be together until their last breath.
The line where it states that “Love is not love/ Which alters where alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove” it is saying that even the lover themselves change, true love will remain constant. The second phase “ bends with the remover to remove”, states that even though the affection will be removed the real love will stay the same.
2nd Quatrain
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark �
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.
The line “O no! it is an ever-fixed mark /That looks on tempests and is never shaken” in these two lines the poet is asserting that love can never be ruined even though there are many circumstances that may occur in the life of the lovers, their love will never change. While the seventh and eighth line is talking about “star”. the ever fixed mark is also referring to the “North star” a star that never changes its position in the night sky. Back then there are no GPS or even compass so the sailors will base on the location of the star. If we are going to base it on real life scenario even where the lover go, he/she will always go back to where he/she belong.
3rd Quatrain
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.
The ninth and tenth line “Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks /Within his bending sickle's compass come” utters that even if time passes by and they will grow old or their faces will never be the same when they first met, the same love they felt when they will forever be the same as long as they love each other. The “bending sickle” is the one that grim reapers are holding as we see it in pictures. What the poet is trying to say is that if you love someone you will always love him/her till death. The last part of the third quatrain is stating that the love will forever be the same and can never change until to the “edge of doom” or the judgment day.
Couplet
If this be error and upon me prov'd, �
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.
The last two lines of the sonnet provides dramatic and quite bold ending. Line 13 uses rather legalistic language to basically say, "If these ideas are wrong and anyone can prove that I’m incorrect…“ it is like a challenge to the readers but the continuation says that “I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd” it is like he’s saying that he will forget that he wrote something and never loved someone if someone will prove that he is incorrect.