Rare Hidden Copy Of Shakespeare Sonnet 116 Discovered In A 17th-Century Poetry Collection

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Dr. Leah Veronese from Oxford University's English Faculty has made a significant discovery by uncovering a rare manuscript copy of Shakespeare’s renowned Sonnet 116. This valuable find was located within a 17th-century poetry collection among the papers of Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), who was not only the founder of the Ashmolean Museum but also an ardent supporter of the monarchy during the English Civil War. Remarkably, this is only the second known manuscript copy of this sonnet ever found.

Dr. Veronese encountered this extraordinary artifact while conducting research for her DPhil at Oxford University in the Bodleian Library. The manuscript is part of a 'miscellany,' which refers to a handwritten document containing various texts from different authors on diverse topics. In early modern times, poetry often circulated in such miscellanies; interestingly, this particular manuscript also includes some original poetry by Elias Ashmole himself.

"As I was leafing through the manuscript, the poem struck me as an odd version of Sonnet 116. When I looked in the catalogue (originally compiled in the nineteenth century) the poem was described, not inaccurately, as "on constancy in love" – but it doesn’t mention Shakespeare.

I think the combination of the additional first line ‘Self-blinding error seize those minds’ and absence of Shakespeare from the original catalogue description may be the reason why this poem has passed un-noticed as a copy of Sonnet 116 all these years," Dr. Veronese explained in a press release.

William Shakespeare. Credit: BatyrAshirbayev98 - CC BY-SA 4.0

This version of the poem is especially intriguing due to its adaptation. The sonnet is positioned alongside politically charged works, such as banned Christmas carols and satirical poems reflecting the turbulent events of the early 1640s. In this particular copy, the sonnet has been transformed into a song with music composed by Henry Lawes.

While this copy contains only the text, the musical composition can be accessed in a book of songs at the New York Public Library. Notably, this song version includes seven additional lines and modifications to Shakespeare's original opening and final couplet.

The opening is changed from:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds

…to:

Self blinding error seize all those minds
Who with false appellations call that love
Which alters when it alterations finds

The addition of extra lines in this context likely serves the practical purpose of expanding the verses for singing. However, these lines could also be interpreted as a call for religious and political allegiance during the English Civil War. While their meaning is somewhat ambiguous, they take on a more political tone when viewed within a Royalist collection surrounded by similar poetry.

Credit: Oxford University

This transformation suggests that the sonnet shifts from exploring romantic love to making a potent political statement. It's important to remember that public song performances were banned under the Republican regime, forcing musicians like Henry Lawes to perform secretly in private homes.

This text not only offers insight into how Shakespeare's works were read during this tumultuous period but also illustrates how his writings were adapted to address contemporary political issues.

Professor Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford, said, "This exciting discovery shows that centuries of searching for evidence about Shakespeare and his early reception hasn’t exhausted the archives.

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"Let me not to the marriage of true minds" is now one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets, but it doesn’t seem to have been very popular in his own time. Whereas other sonnets were widely circulated and quoted, only one previous reference to this one was known. And what Dr Veronese shows in her investigation of this new version is that the sonnet being understood in the context of Royalist politics – a long way from its role in modern weddings!

Dr Veronese’s discovery sheds new light on how Shakespeare’s words resonated, and were reshaped, during one of the most tumultuous periods in English history. Her article, ‘A New Copy of Sonnet 116: A Cavalier Cover Version’, features in The Review of English Studies.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer