Question

determine the meaning of the underlined phrases in the context of the passage.
sonnet 116
by william shakespeare
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 worths unknown, although his height be taken.
loves not times fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
within his bending sickles 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 proved,
i never writ, nor no man ever loved.
marriage
times fool
bending sickles compass
edge of doom

Explanation:

• marriage: In the context of the poem, "marriage" is used metaphorically. It represents a union or connection between two "true minds" (i.e., two people with sincere and pure intentions). It's not a literal marriage but a spiritual or emotional bond.
• Time’s fool: This phrase means being at the mercy of time or being controlled by time. The poet is saying that love is not subject to the whims and changes that time brings.
• bending sickle’s compass: "Bending sickle" is an allusion to the Grim Reaper (time personified as a figure with a sickle). "Compass" here refers to the range or scope. So, it means within the range of time's destructive power (as time, like a reaper, can take away beauty - "rosy lips and cheeks").
• edge of doom: This means the end of the world or the final, ultimate end. The poet is emphasizing that love endures even until the very end of everything.

Answer:

• marriage: A metaphorical union of two sincere minds.
• Time’s fool: Subject to the control of time.
• bending sickle’s compass: Within the range of time’s (represented as a reaper with a sickle) destructive power.
• edge of doom: The end of the world.