Sonnet 10 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. It is a procreation sonnet within the Fair Youth sequence. In the sonnet, Shakespeare uses a rather harsh tone to admonish the young man for his refusal to fall in love and have children. It also continues and amplifies the theme of "hatred against the world" which appears rather suddenly in the last couplet of '' Sonnet 9''. The two sonnets may be said therefore to be linked (like ''Sonnets 5 and 6'' or ''Sonnets 15 and 16'') even though the linkage takes a different form.

Structure

Sonnet 10 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, and follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form: '. It is written in

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called " feet". "Iam ...

, a type of poetic

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions per line. Line ten exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter line:

  ×    /    ×  /  ×   /       ×   /  ×   / 
Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love? (10.10)

...while the first two lines exhibit, respectively, a final extrametrical syllable (or ''feminine ending''), and a likely initial reversal:

 ×    /    × /   ×    /   ×       /    × /(×)
For shame deny that thou bear'st love to any,

  /  ×    ×  /   ×    / ×   / × / 
Who for thy self art so unprovident. (10.1-2)

:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''. (×) = extrametrical syllable. Though this is not the only possible

scansion Scansion ( , rhymes with ''mansion''; verb: ''to scan''), or a system of scansion, is the method or practice of determining and (usually) graphically representing the metrical pattern of a line of verse. In classical poetry, these patterns are ...

of the first two lines, the extra emphasis demanded by "thou" to prevent the ictus from resting on "bear'st", and the extra emphasis falling on "who" in an initial reversal, may be seen as pointing up the accusatory tone in the poem.

Synopsis and analysis

The

procreation Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

theme is repeated, though for the first time a personal relationship between the poet and the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

is stated, even to the extent that the

is asked to have a child to please the poet. In looking after himself alone the

is accused of being "unprovident", of not disposing of his wealth properly and of not thinking of the future (pro + videre = to look in advance). The poem stresses the charm of the

. According to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, the

must concede ("Grant"), if he is so disposed ("if thou wilt"), that he is loved by many, as was Narcissus, who in

Golding Golding is an English surname. People People with the surname include: * Andrew Golding (born 1963), English cricketer * Arthur Golding (c. 1536 – 1606), English translator * Ashton Golding (born 1996), Jamaican rugby league footballer * Bel ...

's words, "the hearts of divers trim yong men his beautie gan to move, / And many a Ladie fresh and faire was taken in his love." Like Narcissus, who "to be toucht of man or Mayde . . wholy did disdaine," the youth also refuses to be touched by or to love another. The middle lines toy with imagery of political rebellion, mentioning conspiracies and destruction of houses. The

is like the biblical house, which if it "be deuided agaynst it selfe, that house can not continue" (Mark 3.25; BB). The verse was used of the house of Satan and was a familiar topic of sermons. The

is also instructed to "change thy thought", a change similar to the biblical imperative of metanoia, to change one's mind, often translated as "repent", so that the poet will be of a different "mind" or memory.

References

Further references

*Baldwin, T. W. (1950). ''On the Literary Genetics of Shakspeare's Sonnets''. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. *Hubler, Edwin (1952). ''The Sense of Shakespeare's Sonnets''. Princeton University Press, Princeton. *Schoenfeldt, Michael (2007). ''The Sonnets: The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's Poetry''. Patrick Cheney, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

External links

*
Paraphrase of sonnet in modern language
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 010 British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare