---
title: "February 2026 Classic Reading"
url: "/academics/kakos/classic-readings/february-2026"
type: page
date: 2026-06-18
updated: 2026-06-18
---

# February 2026 Classic Reading

## February 2026 | Sonnet 116

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    ![Image for February 2026 Classic Reading](/sites/default/files/styles/original_aspect_ratio_400/public/media/2026-06/feb-reading-576.jpg?itok=iwcaqVX1) 

 This month’s Classic Reading brings one of the most enduring love poems in the English language to life. Join [Dr. Brian Chalk](/directory/brian.chalk "Brian Chalk") as he reads *Sonnet 116* by **William Shakespeare**, a timeless meditation on the nature of true love — steadfast, unchanging, and unconstrained by time.

Shakespeare’s *Sonnet 116* has resonated for centuries with readers and lovers alike, offering an elegant affirmation that “love’s not Time’s fool” and that genuine devotion remains constant through all trials and changes. In this featured reading, Dr. Chalk’s interpretation illuminates the sonnet’s rich language and emotional depth for both new readers and seasoned enthusiasts.

[Read Sonnet 116 on PoetryFoundation.org](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45106/sonnet-116-let-me-not-to-the-marriage-of-true-minds)

 

Watch Sonnet 116 on YouTube

[Embedded Video](https://www.youtube.com/embed/DgM5GO4VNGI)

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### About This Reading

*Sonnet 116* offers a reflection well suited to the month of Valentine’s Day, one that is strikingly unsentimental. Rather than celebrating romance as fleeting emotion, Shakespeare defines love by what it withstands—change, time, uncertainty, and loss. Love, in this sonnet, is not marked by grand gestures but by constancy.

Written as an argument rather than a confession, the poem insists that true love does not “alter when it alteration finds,” nor bend under pressure or circumstance. It endures precisely because it is rooted in commitment and clarity rather than passion alone.

In this reading, [Dr. Brian Chalk](/directory/brian.chalk "Brian Chalk") presents *Sonnet 116* as a quiet counterpoint to modern Valentine’s Day conventions, inviting listeners to reflect on love as a steady, guiding force—one that holds its meaning long after the cards and celebrations fade.

Filming support provided by [Michael Grabowski, Ph.D.](/directory/michael.grabowski "Michael Grabowski"), Director of the Game Design & Production major and Professor in the Communication, Sound, and Media Arts Department, with assistance from Sam Wofford '26.

 

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The Classic Readings selection for February is Sonnet 116 read by Dr. Brian Chalk.