Greeenblatt also points out that to truly grasp the meaning of the poem and the transience alluded to therein, readers must consider the social code for homosexual love. The Church did not tolerate sodomy and it would make sense that men would be attracted to other men considering how women were often treated as lower-class citizens. Through this "seesaw game of acknowledgment and denial" (253), Shakespeare "stages his sexual desire for the young man" (253). This poem encapsulates the bittersweet emotions often experienced in May-December or otherwise difficult romances. In "Sonnet 116," we see a different side of love, which seems to influence the poet's attitude toward life as well. The poet uses metaphors to discuss love. He tells readers from the very beginning that love is a "marriage of true minds" (Shakespeare Sonnet 116-1). The term "ever-fixed mark" (5) explains how love is a metaphor for a navigation tool, such as a compass. The poet speaks of love as something that never falters and states that it is the "star to every wandering bark" (7). The star of love is bright and it will steer the course of many hearts that choose to follow it. The poet also demonstrates the strength of love through metaphors. The "tempests" (6) the poet speaks of are the difficulties lovers will eventually encounter. However, the poet's love is "never shaken" (6) by these kinds of troubles. By writing that love is "not Time's fool, though rosy lips & cheeks / Within his bending sickle compass come" (9-10), also uses metaphors. The use of the word time indicates that time will make a fool of love. Time might also represent death, as the poet mentions a sickle. These metaphors are powerful and they all point to the fact that love is powerful enough to overcome difficulties as well as strong enough to make a fool of anyone who finds him or herself in it. More metaphors describe rosy lips and cheeks, common when alluding to beauty. Unlike "Sonnet 73," this poem...
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