Sonnet 116

The concept of a spiritual love is introduced in the first line. The phrase “true minds” (Line 1) illustrates a vision of love as an ennobling, intellectual experience. The comparison to a star (Line 7), which is associated with the heavens and awe at the cosmos, portrays a view of love as elevating humans to a higher realm, above that of earthly concerns. This love is a virtuous, steady love, infinitely selfless and boundlessly forgiving. Rather than love as submersion in the emotional extremes of ecstasy and agony, love is a steady drip: it does not overwhelm the lover or the beloved with emotionality, but is rational, even classical, in its Platonic, ideal form. Though there are no overt religious references, the connection between true love as an enlightening, spiritual experience and religion is evident, though Shakespeare’s religious views are unknown.

There is a natural tendency to wonder about whether the sonnet hints at a sexual or romantic relationship between the poet and the young man. However, the ardor expressed, taking place within the context of deep friendship, was not an unusual poetic conceit during Elizabethan England. This sonnet in particular seeks to describe a love that is a meeting of souls and minds rather than bodies: in the case of this particular poem, whether the sonnet is written for a man or woman has little to no influence on its meaning.