A recently discovered rare hand-written copy of a well-known love poem by William Shakespeare has come to light after many centuries. Dr. Leah Veronese made the remarkable find of Sonnet 116 hidden within a 17th-century collection of poetry at the University of Oxford. This manuscript was among the belongings of Elias Ashmole, who was the founder of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. According to Prof. Emma Smith from Oxford, this revelation marks an exciting moment that will enhance scholars’ comprehension of Shakespeare’s enduring popularity in the years following his passing.
The sonnet was unearthed by Dr. Veronese within a miscellany, a type of manuscript containing diverse texts from different authors on various topics, stored at the Bodleian Library. In the words of the university researcher, as she went through the manuscript, the poem seemed like an unusual version of Sonnet 116. Even though the catalog from the 19th century described it as “on constancy in love,” the name of Shakespeare was absent from the reference. In Ashmole’s altered version, certain sections of Sonnet 116, also known as Let me not to the marriage of true minds, had been changed, and additional lines were inserted.
Dr. Veronese pointed out that the modified initial line and the absence of Shakespeare’s credit are factors that may have led to overlooking this poem as a copy of Sonnet 116 all this time. Interestingly, the sonnet shares a space in the miscellany with works from the tense political climate of the 1640s, the era of the English Civil War between Royalists and Parliamentarians. Since Ashmole was a fervent supporter of the monarchy, the added lines in the sonnet could be interpreted as a plea for religious and political allegiance.
This newly discovered version of Sonnet 116 potentially transforms it from a reflection on romantic love to a potent political pronouncement, according to researchers. Prof. Smith noted that while Let me not to the marriage of true minds is now highly regarded among Shakespeare’s sonnets, it might not have been particularly favored during his lifetime. She commended Dr. Veronese’s exploration of this alternate version, emphasizing the evolving interpretation of the sonnet within the context of Royalist politics, a departure from its current association with modern weddings
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