Shakespeare's sonnet 3 explaination and summary
Sonnet - 3
Title:-"Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest"(FROM FIRST LINE)
""Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose uneared womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime:
So thou through windows of thine age shall see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remembered not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.""
Line to line meaning of poem
LINE :-1
The young man is urged to gaze in a mirror and see his own reflection by the speaker.
LINE :-2
The speaker makes the suggestion that the young man should father a child right now and provide his characteristics and attributes to the child.
LINE :-3
The young man will not be able to renew or reproduce himself through subsequent generations if he does not have children now.
LINE :-4
The young man deceives the world and robs a mother of the blessing that is childrearing by not having children.
LINE :-5
Where can one find a woman so stunning that she wouldn't want to have children? asks the speaker.
LINE :-6
Who would object to your fertility being cultivated?
LINE :-7
Who is so self-centered that he would decide to forgo having children in order to become his own tomb?
LINE :-8
Being unduly self-centered would stop the next generation from existing.
LINE :-9
Your mother sees herself reflected in you, and you are a reflection of her.
LINE :-10
Seeing you, your mother recalls how beautiful she was when she was younger.
LINE :-11
In a similar vein, as you get older, your children will reflect aspects of your own adolescence.
LINE :-12
Your youth is still here, even with the unavoidable signs of ageing.
LINE :-13
You will not be remembered if you pass away without leaving a legacy.
LINE :-14
Your image and likeness will disappear along with you if you pass away without producing any legacy for future generations.
Summary and thematic analysis
***First Quatrain***(Line 1-4)
Theme:-
stressing the transient nature of youth and imploring the young guy to reflect on the passage of time and the chance to start a family.
Summary:-
The lecturer counsels the young guy to reflect on time passing by gazing at himself in the mirror.
- He says that since the young man's attractiveness should be preserved for future generations, this is the right time for him to become a father.
- Failing to do so would be denying a mother's blessing and lying to the world.
***Second Quatrain***(Line 5-8)
Theme:-
examining the decision to forgo having children, emphasising the significance of leaving a legacy and the possibility of losing children.
Summary:-
The speaker compares a woman's womb to uncultivated land and wonders if there is ever a lady so beautiful that she would choose not to have children.
- In addition, he begs the question of whether someone is so conceited that he would decide against starting a family out of sheer vanity.
***Third Quatrain***(Line 9-12)
Theme:-
Examining the notion that the young man is a reflection of his mother's youth and hoping that, as a sign of life's continuity, he will recognise aspects of his own youth in his offspring.
Summary:-
Recalling that he is a reflection of his mother, who finds her own youthful beauty in him, the speaker addresses the young man.
- Despite the unavoidable signs of ageing, the young man will look back on his children and find reflections of his own youth.
*** Final couplet***(Line 13-14)
Theme:-
The concluding couplet highlights the dangers of forgetting one's identity, the penalties of dying childless, and how quickly one's likeness fades if they don't leave a legacy.
Summary:-
The speaker issues a warning, saying that the young man will be forgotten and his resemblance will fade away with him if he passes away without leaving behind any progeny.
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