Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare
Literature is a broad term with different definitions depending on personal understanding. It mostly refers to the written work be it novels, poetry, novellas, and speeches. The list is so broad for it has to include written interviews, comics and personal letters and this makes the definition broader and therefore it can be further defined as a group of art placed on a specific area or thought. This is because literature exists in mathematics, history, and in psychology. Generally, literature refers to a deep aggregate of the written word, grammar, knowledge and contains a deep analysis of fashion and has some deep heightened standards to set away from other writing standards (Sedgwick., 2015).
Literature is very important in connecting people to be it in fiction and nonfiction world. The books of literature bring people into real life. Through deep analysis and understanding of literature different paintings comes into existence in the mind of the reader depending on the breadth and depth of life understanding (Sedgwick., 2015). Therefore literature in its primary value it gives out the human significance. In addition, literature plays a big role in social function. This is because a well-placed and planned literature arouses the desires of the reader where the literal writers and artists find solace in the world of literature.
Literature by the modern writers has fully developed a good area for expression, feelings and some situations and complex languages. This basically means that literature reduces limitations of life as it becomes the vehicle for free thinking and a field of feelings for the common people, the more literature is employed in real life the more the readers become more popular and public hence making literature more important in connecting literature and life (Sedgwick., 2015).
In analyzing literature and observing the link which exists in between life and the work of art I have chosen love as the aspect of life to major on. Love is a broad word though the meaning is fairly the same. Love refers to that strong affection for one another which starts from kinship or personal contacts and ties, it can be a parental love to a child or that strong attraction of one towards the other based on sexual fulfillment or sexual desire between couples (Sedgwick., 2015). In analyzing this issue I have decided to choose two works of literature, that is a poem and a play so as to show the ties which exist in between real life and the work of art done in form of writing or orally. Sonnet116 is the poem I choose in analyzing the theme of love which is a life aspect issue since each and every one in one time throughout his/her life finds himself or herself strongly attracted to someone else and therefore I chose sonnet 116 which is a poem by Shakespeare in trying to link the oneness which is existing between real life and the work of art (Sedgwick., 2015).
The other work of literature which I chose in trying to link the relationship which still exists between the work of art and real life if a play, a play is a form of a written literature which basically converges and consists of characters who throughout the play they are all in dialogue and are intended to be in a theoretical performance and not just mere reading as the playwright places them with an intention of bringing a specific theme out clearly for the people watching to grasp it at the first performance or on the recurrent times of watching and listening (Sedgwick., 2015). A play is mostly a performed activity which is made for purpose of recreation rather than for a serious or a practical need although there is the main theme which is normally passed by the characters in the play. The play in consideration goes by the name “love and recession” which is trying to link the feelings the play writer who is trying to give out his views about love and how the play connects the characters till it brings some ties between life and literature (Sedgwick., 2015).
The theme of love is very important to the overall human experience in that the human beings will understand the benefits love brings to the lives of those incorporates it in their day to day life. We as human beings look at love as an inferior component in life but the fact is that love plays are a paramount role in our lives. Loving is caring for others and therefore caring for others brings happiness levels high for both parties (Shakespeare., 2012).The need of loving and being loved brings in the sense of belonging and works as a basic and fundamental need for all human beings living and coexisting and therefore the topic on love sheds some light on the benefit of caring and nurturing the love for others. The topic emphasizes on the fact that people need to understand that there exists a parallel line between loving and caring for others and finding love for ourselves and so this will try to link ties which exist between life and the written work of authors (Shakespeare. 2012).
Sonnet 116 is a poem by Shakespeare which is all about love as the main theme. The poet has a lot of praises and tends to glorify the two lovers who met each other and entered into a relationship freely based on personal understanding and trust between the lovers. The first four lines of the poem are revealing the poet’s happiness and pleasure of being in love that is so strong and constantly growing day in day out (Shakespeare. 2012).
(Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments, Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove)
These lines proclaim true love which is existing between the two lovers. The poet puts it clearly that at times we may measure love to some extent and to some degree though this doesn’t mean that we can understand the meaning of love. In a real sense, love cannot be understood though it can be felt and seen (Shakespeare. 2012). This poem is strongly trying to link the reality that love is that affection and strong lover between people as the literature on the sonnet 116 poems are putting it. The poem is emphasizing the importance of remaining strongly attached together from the moment of being love till the edge of death comes. This is a strong point in supporting real-life love as the bride and bridegroom in the moment of being joined together during weddings they are normally advised to remain together as from that very moment till death does them part. This shows that there is a great connection between literature which is the written work and the real life since the two are revolving around staying together and strong till death (Shakespeare. 2012).
According to Shakespeare poem, sonnet 116, love is universal and never changing and it is in this where he calls for people to embrace the fact that love is never dying or losing trust to each other but remaining in strong support till the end (Aquilina., 2011). This poem is conveying a direct and a very important message to the readers with the aim of making them realize the fact that there exist real ties between literature both written and the oral literature and the real life (Shakespeare. 2012). This piece of literature work is very important in that it is trying to educate people on the importance of remaining in love and their marriages no matter the challenges they face keeping in mind that true love knows no barrier and therefore they ought to remain fully attached to each other (Aquilina., 2011). This poem is strongly expanding the theme of love which this research is all addressing on for it is giving a lot of supporting advice to those in love. On the same, the poem can complicate the theme of love under coverage depending on the levels of understanding of the reader since it is not a direct them in which everyone can just read and get it unless a deep eye for literature is used. This poem is telling the readers something new to be proud of and a very educative point which needs to be put in use for the benefit of those in love either in marriages or still dating with the aim of marrying in future (Shakespeare. 2012). In the next work of literature, the play entitled “love and recession” which is a very simple but humorous play which is expressing romance in the times of economic recession in Nigeria a country in western Africa (Herzog et al., 2010).
The play is a mix of music, comedy, and drama with three characters and the main theme of the play being love. The play revolves around a young farmer who is living in the deep villages in Nigeria and was a long- time friend of the area chief and his daughter who is portrayed as being so beautiful. The chief’s daughter is ready and mature enough to get were to propose to her and later marry her for she is seen to be so desperate for marriage (Herzog et al., 2010). But the society sets some standards for her in that she has to remain calm and learn some character and be able to control her tempers before she gets married to the man she is yearning to meet in her love circles. During the time of the play, everything is seen to be living in scarcity including men to marry such beautiful ladies. This play is trying to convey the message that ladies should remain calm and learn the basic and most of the important characters and behavior needed for keep a man in their house. Away from the play which is a work of literature, the real-life demands ladies who have reached the age of being married or who are currently dating to fully get settled and gain some good behaviors which will make them get the right men for their love life (Herzog et al., 2010). This play gives more detail on love since the chief advises his daughter to go for a man to propose to her but due to mine disagreement, the man who was to marry faints and becomes unconscious but later gains some consciousness and the two are forced to marry at the spot.
This play connects completely to the poem “sonnet116” by Shakespeare which still fights for those in love to remain fighting for their love. Since the main theme in this play is the love it teaches people that love is like a star that guides the ship that stays sailing in the process of stormy waters. This shows how strong love should be valued and not lost no matter the challenges such people find themselves in. this play is conveying the main message of love where it is strengthening lovers to remain strong and concerned about their future (Herzog et al., 2010).This piece of advice is regarded as one of the best for it is giving some hope for future and strong existence between the lovers. Play as a work of literature is greatly expanding the theme of love in that it is giving a deep analysis of what lovers go through in the hunt for love. This is serving as a reflection board for those in love to stay focused and at the end, they will enjoy the fruits of being honest and strong in love (Herzog et al., 2010).
The play “ love and recession” is giving us a new dimension of fighting for our love affairs and remaining faithful no matter the cost and challenges we are about to face for at the end we will enjoy the ripe and sweet fruits of our struggles in love. In conclusion, it is worth noting that literature is very important to any society for it brings in some connection between itself and life. Literature teaches people on how to look at life from a different perspective and gives each person enough room to think in a different manner away from the way they away think and to understanding our surroundings better than we normally do (Sedgwick., 2015). Poetry which is an extensive work of literature teaches us in life all round about what we all expect to meet in real life, be it good times in life or hardships. The choices of words in poetry matters a lot in passing the right information into the readers for some of the words soothes our minds, heart, and soul giving us some hope of life (Sedgwick., 2015).Poetry is one of the oldest works of literature acts as a medium for keeping and recording the life journeys of people, their stories and memories and this is the reason why people ought to get concerned with the themes of the works of literature so as to fully make sure that the real information recorded in the previous generation is the one which is passed to the next generation or an improved kind of information so as to make such generations more informed.
All these works of literature, ranging from poetry, songs, and stories are very important in decorating and framing the human experience for they enrich the human experience and conditions greatly since they pass the right and required information from one generation and with the necessary moral lessons something which has a great impact in mounding and improving the experience of those involve (Sedgwick., 2015).
