Summary

The speaker says that there should be no "impediment" between two people who are truly mentally equal (2). Love should not change over time, but instead remain fixed forever. It should not hesitate, even when enormous obstacles are presented. Even as the beloved changes over time, the love itself stays the same. The poet ends by declaring that he never wrote and no one ever loved unless these claims are true.

Analysis

This poem is often considered one of Shakespeare’s most romantic sonnets. It crops up on almost every online listicle of best poems for a wedding or most romantic Shakespeare poems. Certainly, the poem is concerned with the enduring power of love, which explains why this poem has had such a unique longevity. It is one of the most popular sonnets even today, second only to Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a...