In Shakespeare’s two sonnets, # 116 and # 147. The speaker expresses that love is eternal. But the feeling the speaker has about this eternity has a stark contrast between these two sonnets.
Sonnet 116 expresses that love is everlasting and unhampered. On line 12 the speaker says love “bears it out even to the edge of doom”, he takes this stance throughout the entire sonnet. The theme of youth is present here but not as I expected. While he is not necessarily talking about youth he personifies love as a youth. The youth of love is explained only briefly in lines 9 and 10 when the speaker states, “Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/ Within his bending sickle’s compass come.”
Sonnet 147 takes a darker look at love. The opening line explains the speaker’s disdain for love: “My love is a fever, longing still.” There is a battle within the speaker for control. His reason which he personifies as “the physician to my love” is the force which could possibly keep him from love has abandoned him and he has no choice but to love. What is interesting is that the speaker does not want to love, and his reasoning is unknown which leaves the reader with the question why, or to insert their own answer.
I love the contrast between these two sonnets. Sonnet 116 has a positive view on love and 147 simply is not feeling the vibes. This is a very good starting point if a person was to explain the dynamics of the human condition in terms of love. To put very simply, sonnet 116 could depict the thoughts of a happy individual in the psychological approach while 147 obviously illustrates someone who is not happy with life. It sounds very elementary but if this idea were to be fleshed out a ten page paper could be in the works!
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