love is not love...

[Chloey]

hello~~~
this is me again
I found a sonnet by william shakespeare but I dont quite understand...can you help me please??? my first language is not English that's why...

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:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

Can somebody translate it into modern English please???

and if you dont mind, I want to ask some question about learning English...well, in the old days, chinese people start to learn a range of books when they were little, they must to remember every word in those books regardless their meanings, because people believe that if you remember all the work by the great litterateurs,you will one day become one like them.

I am not familiar with the western schooling, but I think western people have to learn the bible by heart at a young age.. I just wonder if I shall do the same, for example, try to memorize poems and particular literature from now on and my English will improve...

do you understand what I said??? Can you give me some advises please???

Thank you so much!!!

[ShoutGrace]

well, in the old days, chinese people start to learn a range of books when they were little, they must to remember every word in those books regardless their meanings, because people believe that if you remember all the work by the great litterateurs,you will one day become one like them.

That sounds exhausting!

I am not familiar with the western schooling, but I think western people have to learn the bible by heart at a young age..

I am fairly certain that this doesn't happen in America, anyway.

I just wonder if I shall do the same, for example, try to memorize poems and particular literature from now on and my English will improve...

Your English is more than functional as it is, Chloey. Of course memorizing literature will "help" you, to a certain extent . . . but maybe memorizing vocabulary and grammar will help more.

[optimisticnad]

i remember my rival (yes you!) quoting this to me........... :-)

[carmanjc]

I don't see that anyone has helped you with a free-form modern English "translation", so here goes:

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments."

I won't permit blocks/hurdles to a true closeness of individuals.

"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,"

It's not love if it seeks to change the loved one.

"Or bends with the remover to remove:"

Or permits the loved one to change oneself.

"O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;"

Love is a permanent thing ("ever-fixed mark" refers to a seaborne mark to navigate by) that sees faults in the beloved and does not flinch away from them.

"It is the star to every wandering bark,"

Another seagoing navigation reference: a star to guide by. A bark is an archaic word for a type of small boat.

"Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."

We may not know the value of this love but we do know certain aspects of its magnitude.

"Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;"

Love is not just for youth but survives into old age.

"Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom."

Love is not that feeling that changes and ends in a couple weeks but lasts forever.

"If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd."

If I'm wrong and someone proves that to me, then all my writing has been in vain and all men's loving has been false.

I thought for a moment that this usage of "prov'd" might be the archaic sense of the word (proved=tested) but that doesn't seem to fit.

Hope this helps.

I don't know of anywhere that memorizing the Bible is forced on youngsters but I think if you do that you'll end up with a slightly archaic form of English. I have heard that reading Agatha Christie novels is good--for one thing, they're slightly formulaic, which makes for easier reading in a second language; for another thing, they plot will grab you and pull you along. Since the best way to learn a language is to use it a lot, those two factors will help.

Good luck!

[ale]

[QUOTE=Chloey;279642]
I found a sonnet by william shakespeare but I dont quite understand...can you help me please??? my first language is not English that's why...

In this sonnet, Shakespeare is defining 'true love'. He begins by saying what people who are really in love do not do: they don't change, their love remains strong even when they face difficult situations

Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no;

Then, along the same line, the poet describes true love: it's constant, unmovable, reliable. It's not weakend by ordeals or hard times
it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

I've always taken this line as referring to a lighthouse, but I guess there might be other interpretations.
Next, love is a guide. Whenever you feel lost, you can trust that you're loved one will stand next to you. His / her value cannot be measured.
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Finally, love is not bound by youth and beauty. Your loved one will remain true even when you're no longer young and pretty. Love is forever.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

There's a link between the first line ("Let me not...") and But bears it out even to the edge of doom. Both could be connected to the marriage ceremony, the latter meaning 'till death parts us'. In this way, I guess, we can say that Shakespeare approves of marriage when two people really love each other
Hope it helps!