Literature Online--English 112

What Does "Tempests" Mean Here?

TEMPESTS Explanation

What sort of storms come between lovers? Arguments, even those as strong as this thundestorm or even a force 5 hurricane, do not "shake" love, can not scare it away, if it's true love.

(P.S. Notice that the extra long lines used to make the "taken"-"shaken" rhyme call attention to the metaphor about height and the one about tempests.)
Back to the Poem

Background: Cover | Module Preview | A Brief History of the Sonnet | Metrics in Poetry | Reading a Poem | About William Shakespeare

Instruction on Sonnet 116: Sonnet 116--A Reading | The Text | A Paraphrase | Scansion 1 | Scansion 2 | Rhyme Scheme | Sound Effects | Symbolism | Theme

External Sources on Poetry: an alphabetical Glossary of Poetic Terms

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