Sonnet 13
Encyclopedia
Sonnet 13 is the first of Shakespeare's
procreation sonnets
to contain a declaration of love.
Throughout this sonnet are descriptions of the winter and the death in nature that this brings. The winter images captured in Sonnet 5
and Sonnet 6
reappear in this sonnet.
The third line of this sonnet "Against this coming end you should prepare" has a connotation of the Day of Judgment.
Like many of the previous procreation sonnets it describes how the man being described needs to have children. The two lines below describe how a person's essence can be captured in their children and that by having children they would resemble their father.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
procreation sonnets
Procreation sonnets
The term procreation sonnets is a name given to Shakespearean sonnets numbers I to XVII .They are referred to as the procreation sonnets because they all argue that the young man to whom they are addressed should marry and father children, hence procreate...
to contain a declaration of love.
Throughout this sonnet are descriptions of the winter and the death in nature that this brings. The winter images captured in Sonnet 5
Sonnet 5
Sonnet 5 is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare.-Analysis:It repeats the emphasis on human aging, compared with progress of the seasons. The final couplet about "distilled flowers" refers to the extraction of perfume from petals, in which the visible "show" of the flowers disappears, but their...
and Sonnet 6
Sonnet 6
Sonnet 6 is a sonnet by William Shakespeare, and a continuation of his fifth sonnet.-Synopsis:The opening line of this sonnet leads directly from the end of Sonnet 5, as though the two poems were intended as one, itself perhaps a reference to the idea of pairing through marriage that informs the...
reappear in this sonnet.
Interpretation and meaning
The first line "O! that you were your self;" means that Shakespeare wants the man he is describing to remain as he is, unchanged, not aging. The sonnet is quite philosophical in that it asks how can a person have an identity if they are constantly changing?The third line of this sonnet "Against this coming end you should prepare" has a connotation of the Day of Judgment.
Like many of the previous procreation sonnets it describes how the man being described needs to have children. The two lines below describe how a person's essence can be captured in their children and that by having children they would resemble their father.
- Yourself again, after yourself's decease
- When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear.