Section B · Anthology PoetryWilliam Shakespeare · Pre-1900 (c.1609)
Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare · Edexcel IGCSE anthology poem · 30-mark comparison question · Poems provided in the exam.
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Mrs Rumsey · Edexcel IGCSE AnthologyAnalysis of Sonnet 116
Key analysis
⚡ Section B — 30-mark comparison: AO2 (analyse language, form, structure) + AO3 (compare two poems throughout — not one then the other). Both poems are given in the exam. Quote precisely and explain the effect of specific word choices.
Themes
Love as constant and unchanging
The nature of true love (contrasted with mere infatuation)
The challenge of time and mortality
Certainty and conviction
Love as a fixed point in a changing world
Form & Structure
Petrarchan sonnet structure — octave makes the argument, sestet extends it
Extended metaphors: love as a "star", an "ever-fixed mark", a guide for ships
The couplet is a challenge: "If this be error and upon me proved / I never writ, nor no man ever loved"
Negatives dominate: "Love is not..." "Love's not..." — love defined by what it is NOT
Iambic pentameter — ordered, rational, mirroring the logical argument
Key quotes to memorise
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments" — love resists obstacles
"It is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken" — love as a lighthouse
"Love is not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come" — love outlasts physical beauty
"Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks / But bears it out even to the edge of doom" — love is eternal
"If this be error and upon me proved / I never writ, nor no man ever loved" — absolute conviction
Exam questions — 2 questions · 17 marks
1 markThe star metaphor
What does Shakespeare mean by describing love as an "ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken"?
A Love is cold and distant like a star
B True love is a reliable, immovable point of reference — like a lighthouse or the North Star that guides ships through storms — it is not affected by difficulty or change
C Love is bright and beautiful but can only be seen from a distance
D Love, like a star, eventually dies out
15 marksComparison paragraphSection B style
Write two comparative paragraphs exploring how Sonnet 116 and Remember present different ideas about love and time.
Hint: Compare throughout. Cover: what each poem says about love and time + how form (both sonnets but used differently) creates meaning + language + key difference in tone and argument.