Sonnet+Explication

Sonnet VI   In Shakespeare’s Sonnet VI, the speaker is Shakespeare, and since his first seventeen sonnets were written to a young man or benefactor, the subject is a young man. In Sonnet VI, Shakespeare tells the young man to have children by stating some reasons. In the first quatrain, he advises the man to not let time and age ruin his life and beauty. The second quatrain talks about the subject would be much happier if he had children. The third quatrain continues this encouragement by stating if he had ten children then he would be ten times as happy because there would be ten people to carry on his beauty. In the couplet, Shakespeare tells the subject to not have worms carry on his legacy but instead have children to carry on his legacy and beauty. He praises the subject’s beauty and wishes it to last forever.

 In Sonnet VI, Shakespeare presents different tones in different quatrains of his poem. In quatrain one, there is an advising tone as Shakespeare tells and informs the young man to keep his beauty and legacy against the all powerful time in the line “then let not winter’s ragged hand deface”. The second quatrain’s tone is hopeful because Shakespeare hopes the benefactor will have children “that’s for thy shelf to breed another thee” and carry on his legacy. In the third quatrain, the tone is encouraging. In the eighth line, “ten times thy self were happier than thou art, if ten of thine ten times refigured thee”, he encourages the young man to have children and says he will gain ten times the happiness if he had ten children since they will all carry on his beauty and legacy. In the couplet, Shakespeare concludes the poem and uses an advising tone to finally persuade the subject to have children.

 Shakespeare’s Sonnet VI mentions the theme of living forever through legacy and heir. Shakespeare consistently talks about the benefactor’s beauty living forever through his poems, but he also says his poems might not live forever. He encourages the young man to have children to carry on his legacy as his children will have children, and thus his beauty would last forever. Through his everlasting beauty, the subject will live forever.

 In Sonnet VI, the speaker who is Shakespeare encourages the subject or the benefactor to have children. He establishes an advising tone and persuades the young man to keep his beauty even against the power time and aging. Through the poem, he presents a theme of living forever through heirs. Shakespeare hopes the young man’s beauty will last forever.