Poem Analysis - Sonnet 9 Is It For Fear To Wet A Widows Eye

A Plea for Procreation: Introduction

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 9 is a forceful and persuasive argument directed at a young man, urging him to marry and have children. The poem adopts a scolding, almost accusatory tone, lamenting the waste of the young man's beauty if he remains childless. The poem shifts from hypothetical grief to concrete examples of loss and waste, driving home the urgency of the speaker's plea. Overall, the poem is serious, concerned, and tinged with a hint of desperation.

The Tragedy of Wasteful Beauty

One of the primary themes is the tragedy of wasted beauty. The speaker frames the young man’s choice to remain single and childless as a form of self-destruction. Lines like "That thou consum’st thy self in single life?" and "beauty’s waste hath in the world an end," illustrate the speaker's concern that the young man's beauty will vanish without leaving a trace. The poem suggests that beauty is a resource to be shared, not hoarded, and that refusing to procreate is a selfish act.

The Theme of Immortality Through Offspring

The sonnet centrally explores the idea of achieving immortality through offspring. The speaker argues that having children allows one to live on through them, as seen in the lines "When every private widow well may keep, / By children’s eyes, her husband’s shape in mind." Children, in this context, become a living legacy, a way to defeat the ravages of time. The contrast between the "makeless wife" who has no child to mourn the loss and the widow who finds solace in her children reinforces the importance of procreation as a means of enduring beyond one's own lifetime.

Selfishness and the Destruction of Beauty

The poem also grapples with the theme of selfishness. The final couplet is particularly damning: "No love toward others in that bosom sits / That on himself such murd’rous shame commits." The speaker accuses the young man of a "murd’rous shame" for denying the world the gift of his progeny. This suggests that the speaker views the young man's refusal to have children not merely as a personal choice, but as an act of violence against the world and a sign of a lack of generosity towards others. The poem portrays his beauty as a resource that he is squandering, and his selfishness as preventing the spread of beauty in the world.

Imagery of Loss and Preservation

The imagery of the poem centers around loss, waste, and preservation. The “widow’s eye” establishes an initial image of grief and potential loss, but the speaker presents the young man himself as potentially becoming a metaphorical "widow," lamented by the world for his lost potential. The "unthrift" image highlights that material wealth is less precious than beauty because it can be transferred to someone else while beauty lost is gone forever. The contrast between leaving "no form of thee" and the widow who "keep[s], / By children’s eyes, her husband’s shape in mind" is a powerful visual depiction of the difference between oblivion and lasting legacy. The ambiguity lies in the term 'murd'rous shame' is it shame because he refuses to propagate or shame because he is vain and only concerned about his looks?

Final Thoughts: A Duty to Beauty

In conclusion, Sonnet 9 is a compelling argument for the perpetuation of beauty through procreation. Shakespeare uses imagery of grief, waste, and selfishness to persuade the young man to embrace his societal duty to create a legacy. The poem underscores the idea that beauty is a gift that should be shared and multiplied, and that to deny the world this gift is a form of self-destruction. Ultimately, the sonnet champions the power of procreation as a means to achieve a form of immortality and to leave a positive mark on the world.