![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings\/jenny-russell-789398-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHeavily imbued with romantic lexis and tradition of courtly love, they are the perfect poems and verses to recite to your loved one, either at the altar or during your wedding speeches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below, we have compiled together our favourites of Shakespeare\u2019s sonnets and quotes from his plays that perfectly encapsulate not only the vulnerability of love but also the trials and tribulations that love faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sonnets<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe sonnet has been around for centuries, and has had many exponents. Its name comes from the Italian meaning \u201clittle song<\/a>\u201d. Only from the 13th<\/sup> century did 14 lines become the standard, along with the recognisable rhythm and structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe typical Italian sonnet, from which Shakespeare formed his version, has two halves. The first eight lines form one idea, while the next six argue the opposing point of view. Finally, the second half of these six signal a turn to a resolution, a volta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/inspireme\/Shakespeare%20wedding%20readings\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings-04.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBecause of the musing nature of the form of the sonnet, it has often been used as a vessel for love poetry. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets in all, and the vast majority focus on the subject of love. Read just three of these below, along with short explanations which could help you decide which one might be best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sonnet\n116<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\nLet 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 e’en to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This truly romantic sonnet explores a love which is honest and true. Specifically, it explores how a relationship requires utmost trust. The line \u201cLove is not love \/ Which alters when it alteration finds\u201d is a mirror to the vows \u201cFor better or worse\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings\/alvaro-serrano-133360-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSonnet 18<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\nShall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sonnet is arguably Shakespeare\u2019s most famous and best loved. It is written in iambic pentameter, and therefore follows traditional rhythms of speech and should be easier to read aloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It celebrates the stability of love, in all its forms. The second half of the poem reflects on the continuation of love after death, even further than \u201cTill death us do part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/inspireme\/Shakespeare%20wedding%20readings\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings-01.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSonnet 130<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The form of the sonnet is so deeply intertwined with grandiose expressions of love. In fact, Shakespeare is possibly the most famous for this, as we explored above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, his outwardly unromantic poem is an audience favourite. He turns the spotlight on over the top declarations and makes a mockery of them. True, not everyone can marry someone with eyes like suns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/inspireme\/Shakespeare%20wedding%20readings\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings-03.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHowever, this sonnet is perhaps his most romantic of all. By\npulling focus on how other poems and other writers hide their affection behind\nlanguage, Shakespeare here acknowledges that actions speak louder than false\nassertions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quotes\nfrom plays<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nShakespeare wrote a great many plays, often\nseparated into three categories: comedies, tragedies and histories. The form of\nthe comedy usually relied on a wedding taking place in the final scene. Of\ncourse, this makes them particularly great for quoting at weddings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, there is romance in other Shakespearian\nplays, too. Perhaps his most famous work, Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy. Although\nthe deaths at the end of the play may not be lines you want to quote at your\nwedding, there are plenty of romantic lines early on in tragedies that might be\nperfect for your ceremony or reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings\/simone-baldo-742261-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can use these lines in your vows and speeches,\nor else use them to decorate your venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romeo and\nJuliet<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\nThe aforementioned Romeo and Juliet<\/a> is a trove for romantic lines early on in the play. A couple are listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The typical Italian sonnet, from which Shakespeare formed his version, has two halves. The first eight lines form one idea, while the next six argue the opposing point of view. Finally, the second half of these six signal a turn to a resolution, a volta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the musing nature of the form of the sonnet, it has often been used as a vessel for love poetry. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets in all, and the vast majority focus on the subject of love. Read just three of these below, along with short explanations which could help you decide which one might be best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me not to the marriage of true minds This truly romantic sonnet explores a love which is honest and true. Specifically, it explores how a relationship requires utmost trust. The line \u201cLove is not love \/ Which alters when it alteration finds\u201d is a mirror to the vows \u201cFor better or worse\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? This sonnet is arguably Shakespeare\u2019s most famous and best loved. It is written in iambic pentameter, and therefore follows traditional rhythms of speech and should be easier to read aloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It celebrates the stability of love, in all its forms. The second half of the poem reflects on the continuation of love after death, even further than \u201cTill death us do part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; The form of the sonnet is so deeply intertwined with grandiose expressions of love. In fact, Shakespeare is possibly the most famous for this, as we explored above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, his outwardly unromantic poem is an audience favourite. He turns the spotlight on over the top declarations and makes a mockery of them. True, not everyone can marry someone with eyes like suns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this sonnet is perhaps his most romantic of all. By\npulling focus on how other poems and other writers hide their affection behind\nlanguage, Shakespeare here acknowledges that actions speak louder than false\nassertions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shakespeare wrote a great many plays, often\nseparated into three categories: comedies, tragedies and histories. The form of\nthe comedy usually relied on a wedding taking place in the final scene. Of\ncourse, this makes them particularly great for quoting at weddings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, there is romance in other Shakespearian\nplays, too. Perhaps his most famous work, Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy. Although\nthe deaths at the end of the play may not be lines you want to quote at your\nwedding, there are plenty of romantic lines early on in tragedies that might be\nperfect for your ceremony or reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use these lines in your vows and speeches,\nor else use them to decorate your venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aforementioned Romeo and Juliet<\/a> is a trove for romantic lines early on in the play. A couple are listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSonnet\n116<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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 e’en to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSonnet 18<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSonnet 130<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nQuotes\nfrom plays<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRomeo and\nJuliet<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/images.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/planning\/Shakespeare-wedding-readings\/elcarito-563151-unsplash.jpg\")
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