RARE Hand-Written Copy of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 Discovered—But There’s a TWIST!
A revised version of Shakespeare’s iconic Sonnet 116 has surfaced, revealing the Bard’s unexpected influence throughout history. 🌐 #News #History #Lifestyle
ST. PAUL, MN — Shakespeare fans, lit lovers, and word nerds in Minnesota (and around the world) are geeking out over news from England. A long-overlooked version of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, one of the most celebrated love poems in English, has surfaced in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Known for its firm stance on marital devotion, the original sonnet has been a staple at weddings, presenting love as a force unshaken by time or turmoil, enduring “to the edge of doom.” Now, a revised take on this classic work offers a fresh angle tied to England’s turbulent past.
A Find in Centuries-Old Manuscripts
Leah Veronese, a researcher at Oxford University, came across the altered Sonnet 116 while examining handwritten manuscripts last year.
Detailed in an article published in February in The Review of English Studies, her findings reveal a version with changes to Shakespeare’s opening and closing couplets, plus seven additional lines. Unlike the familiar opening, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments; love is not love,” this adaptation begins with a sterner tone: “Self blinding error seize all those minds / Who with false appellations call that love.”
The revised sonnet, found among the papers of Elias Ashmole—founder of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum—dates to the mid-1600s, a time of intense political strife during the English Civil War. Ashmole, a staunch royalist, kept the document alongside banned Christmas carols and satirical poems about the 1640s political scene.
From Poem to Song
This adapted sonnet didn’t stay on the page—it became a song, set to music by Henry Lawes, a prominent English songwriter of the mid-17th century.
While the Bodleian Library’s copy includes only the text, the accompanying music resides in a songbook held by the New York Public Library.
Oxford University suggests the extra lines may have been added to expand the verses for singing. Veronese notes that the adaptation likely went unnoticed because the catalogue omits Shakespeare’s name and the altered opening lines differ from the original, which are typically used to index texts.
A Shift in Meaning
The timing and context of the find point to a reinterpretation of the sonnet’s themes.
Amid the English Civil War, with royalists like Ashmole clashing against parliamentarians, the poem’s focus seems to pivot from romantic steadfastness to political allegiance.
Veronese argues that the royalist cause takes on the role of the “everfixed mark” and guiding “star,” while the “self-blinding error” reflects the parliamentarian push to topple the monarchy. In Lawes’s hands, the sonnet transforms, leaving a distinct mark on its legacy.
Rethinking Shakespeare’s Reach
Shakespeare’s original Sonnet 116 appeared in a 1609 collection of 154 sonnets that failed to capture buyers’ interest. A 1640 edition met a similar fate, leading scholars to believe the sonnets gained little notice until the late 1700s.
Yet this mid-17th-century adaptation, preserved in Ashmole’s papers, shows the Bard’s work struck a chord in specific circles far earlier. Veronese sees this as evidence that other well-known texts might linger in manuscripts, waiting to be found in unexpected forms.
A Window into History
The unearthing of this revised Sonnet 116 sheds new light on how Shakespeare’s words were received and reshaped during a time of upheaval.
For Veronese, it’s a sign that even a figure as studied as Shakespeare still holds surprises, offering scholars a chance to explore further connections in the vast collections of manuscripts and miscellanies.
The efforts of Leah Veronese and the legacy of Elias Ashmole bring to light the dedication of those who shaped and preserved this unique version of Sonnet 116 amid England’s turbulent past. The Oxford community, from its scholars to its historic libraries, continues to uphold a tradition of unearthing treasures that deepen our connection to literature and history. This find sparks optimism that more hidden gems await, ready to enrich our understanding of the past and inspire future exploration. — Jack and Kitty Norton, Founders and Editors
RELATED TOPICS: History | United Kingdom
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