Shakespeare’s definition:
(A discussion of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and the definition of love it provides) Love and lust has been the muse for writers throughout history. Many have struggled to capture the true meaning of the word. From the Great Gatsby, and Daisy and Gatsby tragic love to Paris and Helen in the Iliad, we see the attempts of great writers to emulate the least understood word in all of history. The relationships between men and women have taken many forms. A lot of time the relationships can be described as purely lustful. Did Paris really love Helen, or did he just want her? Gatsby is in almost the same situation. He loved another man’s wife and wanted her badly. Both men die in the end for their lust. They both sacrifice …show more content…
Shakespeare says, “It is an ever-fixed mark.” Again saying it doesn’t change with the physical stuff. You don’t fall out of love with people, not if its true love. Donne makes the same point in his Valediction: A Forbidding Mourning, comparing his love to a compass with a fixed point, necessary for making a circle. Similarly Shakespeare compares love to the North Star when he says, “It is the star to every wandering bark.” It doesn’t move; it is constant. He helps us understand what love is when he says that it “looks on tempests and is never shaken.” This means that love isn’t true love until it faces challenges. Love faces difficulties and isn’t shaken. Love isn’t true if it ends when you face a hard time or difficulty in the relationship. Shakespeare tells us love “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” What he means by this is that true love endures all the way until the end. It last until the very last breath you …show more content…
Shakespeare defines love in a clear and easily understood way. Looking back at the examples discussed previously, compare the love of Gatsby and Daisy with the requirements Shakespeare gives. Gatsby is an ever fixed mark. He doesn’t change from girl to girl; he is always trying to get Daisy’s attention. He doesn’t alter when he finds alteration in her. When Daisy hits the other woman with Gatsby’s car, he takes the blame and continues to love her. His love didn’t sway in the tempest; it was never shaken. You could argue that Gatsby was in love with what he couldn’t have, but he loved her until the edge of doom. The same evaluation can be made for Paris and Helen or for any love ever written about. Shakespeare Sonnet 116 can be used as a standard for love, and how we understand the term itself. It is invaluable in the differentiation between love and lust. Other poets like Shakespeare have attempted to define love. Some have succeed others have not quite captured the true meaning of the word. Donne is one example of a poet who successfully captured the metaphysical definition of
(A discussion of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and the definition of love it provides) Love and lust has been the muse for writers throughout history. Many have struggled to capture the true meaning of the word. From the Great Gatsby, and Daisy and Gatsby tragic love to Paris and Helen in the Iliad, we see the attempts of great writers to emulate the least understood word in all of history. The relationships between men and women have taken many forms. A lot of time the relationships can be described as purely lustful. Did Paris really love Helen, or did he just want her? Gatsby is in almost the same situation. He loved another man’s wife and wanted her badly. Both men die in the end for their lust. They both sacrifice …show more content…
Shakespeare says, “It is an ever-fixed mark.” Again saying it doesn’t change with the physical stuff. You don’t fall out of love with people, not if its true love. Donne makes the same point in his Valediction: A Forbidding Mourning, comparing his love to a compass with a fixed point, necessary for making a circle. Similarly Shakespeare compares love to the North Star when he says, “It is the star to every wandering bark.” It doesn’t move; it is constant. He helps us understand what love is when he says that it “looks on tempests and is never shaken.” This means that love isn’t true love until it faces challenges. Love faces difficulties and isn’t shaken. Love isn’t true if it ends when you face a hard time or difficulty in the relationship. Shakespeare tells us love “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” What he means by this is that true love endures all the way until the end. It last until the very last breath you …show more content…
Shakespeare defines love in a clear and easily understood way. Looking back at the examples discussed previously, compare the love of Gatsby and Daisy with the requirements Shakespeare gives. Gatsby is an ever fixed mark. He doesn’t change from girl to girl; he is always trying to get Daisy’s attention. He doesn’t alter when he finds alteration in her. When Daisy hits the other woman with Gatsby’s car, he takes the blame and continues to love her. His love didn’t sway in the tempest; it was never shaken. You could argue that Gatsby was in love with what he couldn’t have, but he loved her until the edge of doom. The same evaluation can be made for Paris and Helen or for any love ever written about. Shakespeare Sonnet 116 can be used as a standard for love, and how we understand the term itself. It is invaluable in the differentiation between love and lust. Other poets like Shakespeare have attempted to define love. Some have succeed others have not quite captured the true meaning of the word. Donne is one example of a poet who successfully captured the metaphysical definition of