Sonnet 116

“You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would've been fine And that made me want to die”

Uncle Jerry quotes Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 ('Let me not to the marriage of true minds') when discussing the lyric about the age difference. He argues that if the age gap is an impediment to love, it's something she can't fix, and invokes Shakespeare's definition that true love should not be altered by circumstances. He explicitly says 'I'm quoting Shakespeare, impediment, love, no impediment to love, love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.' The implication is that Jake Gyllenhaal's excuse fails Shakespeare's definition of love.

“as the decade would play us for fools”

Uncle Jerry quotes Sonnet 116's famous line about love not being 'time's fool' as the capstone of his Shakespeare cluster. He calls it 'one of the most beautiful lines in poetry' and draws a direct parallel to Taylor's line about the decade playing them for fools. Both writers use 'fool' in connection with time's destructive power over love.

“You should find another guiding light Guiding light But I shine so bright”

Angela & Uncle Jerry connect the 'guiding light' imagery in the outro to Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, where love is described as 'the ever-fixed mark', a star that sailors navigate by. Uncle Jerry recites the sonnet from memory and connects the North Star / guiding light imagery to the song's outro, where Taylor positions herself as a guiding light that listeners should find alternatives to, despite her brightness.

Uncle Jerry quotes Sonnet 116's famous definition of unchangeable love as a counterpoint to what Taylor is actually saying in State of Grace. He argues that Taylor's version is more realistic: love is unpredictable, people are indecisive and changeable, and love fades in time. Shakespeare's idealised vision of permanent love becomes the foil against which Taylor's honest, grounded treatment stands out.