Structure

The sonnet form

“Sonnet 116” follows the structure of the English sonnet. This genre was originally invented in Italy in the 13th century where it was used for love poetry. In the 16th century, an English version of the sonnet form was developed, and this is referred to as the Shakespearean sonnet.

The English sonnet has fourteen lines, which are divided into three quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a couplet (two-line stanza). The aim of the couplet is to underline the thoughts presented in the quatrains. This can be said of “Sonnet 116”, too, as the last two lines underline the truth of what th...