William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 13 continues the thematic thread of his early sonnets, which encourage a young man to preserve his beauty by producing offspring. Written in the 1590s, this sonnet is part of the larger “procreation sonnets” (Sonnets 1–17), in which Shakespeare urges the fair youth to marry and father children. While the speaker’s plea might seem personal, the argument is built on universal themes of beauty, time, and mortality. In Sonnet 13, Shakespeare deepens the intimacy of his tone, referring to the youth as “love” for the first time, and layering his argument with metaphors of inheritance, ruin, and self-love.
The sonnet exemplifies Shakespeare’s masterful use of poetic structure, particularly the English sonnet form, to develop and reinforce a logical, emotional, and aesthetic progression. Its language is elegant yet accessible, its tone affectionate yet urgent, and its overall structure methodically persuasive. Let us first present the poem and then analyze its construction and meaning.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 13
O! that you were your self; but, love, you are
No longer yours, than you your self here live:
Against this coming end you should prepare,
And your sweet semblance to some other give.
So should that beauty which you hold in lease
Find no determination; then you were
Yourself again, after yourself’s decease,
When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear.
Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,
Which husbandry in honour might uphold
Against the stormy gusts of winter’s day
And barren rage of death’s eternal cold?
O! none but unthrifts. Dear my love, you know
You had a father: let your son say so.
Structure and Tone of Sonnet 13
Sonnet 13 follows the structure of a typical English (or Shakespearean) sonnet: 14 lines divided into three quatrains and a final rhymed couplet. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which provides a rhythmic consistency that underscores the poem’s logical argument.
The overall tone is affectionate, urgent, and persuasive. By calling the youth “love,” Shakespeare introduces a tender intimacy not seen in previous sonnets. However, this warmth is juxtaposed with the sobering reminder of mortality and decay. The speaker is both loving and logical, arguing that beauty and essence can only be preserved through procreation. The metaphorical language involving leases, inheritance, storms, and houses gives weight to the abstract idea of legacy, rooting it in tangible, earthly imagery.
Poetry Analysis
Lines 1–4: Identity and Mortality
O! that you were your self; but, love, you are
No longer yours, than you your self here live:
Against this coming end you should prepare,
And your sweet semblance to some other give.
Summary of Main Argument:
The speaker opens with a paradox: the youth is not truly himself because his existence is temporary. He will only remain “his own” as long as he lives. The tone is both tender and philosophical. By calling him “love,” the speaker introduces a note of emotional attachment, but quickly grounds it in the transient nature of life. To guard against the “coming end,” the speaker urges the youth to give his “sweet semblance”—his beautiful appearance—to another, through the act of procreation.
Interpretation:
This quatrain introduces the theme of impermanence. The phrase “you are no longer yours” implies that human identity and beauty are fleeting unless passed on. Shakespeare subtly hints at the concept of legacy—not just as memory, but as biological continuation. The tension between mortality and immortality is established here.
Lines 5–8: Inheritance and Continuity
So should that beauty which you hold in lease
Find no determination; then you were
Yourself again, after yourself’s decease,
When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear.
Summary of Main Argument:
Here, the speaker expands on the idea that beauty is not owned outright but “held in lease,” much like property. To prevent this beauty from ending (“find no determination”), the youth must have a child, who will mirror his form. In this way, the youth lives on through his “sweet issue.”
Interpretation:
The legal metaphor of a lease suggests temporariness and responsibility. Beauty is a gift, not a permanent possession. The repetition of “yourself” emphasizes both identity and legacy. The oxymoron “yourself again, after yourself’s decease” encapsulates the theme of immortality through progeny. The speaker portrays procreation not as a loss but a renewal—an echo of the self that survives death.
Lines 9–12: Metaphor of House and Winter
Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,
Which husbandry in honour might uphold
Against the stormy gusts of winter’s day
And barren rage of death’s eternal cold?
Summary of Main Argument:
The speaker now likens the youth’s body and beauty to a “house.” To let such a fair house fall into ruin is wasteful. Through “husbandry” (careful stewardship, or metaphorically, marriage and childbearing), the house could be maintained even in the face of time and death—figured as storm and cold.
Interpretation:
This quatrain turns to a powerful metaphor: the human body or lineage as a house subject to decay. “Husbandry” implies both domestic management and a pun on “husband,” reinforcing the theme of marriage. The harsh imagery of winter and “death’s eternal cold” contrasts starkly with the earlier gentleness, creating emotional urgency. The house motif ties to the Elizabethan worldview in which lineage and inheritance were central to social and personal identity.
Lines 13–14: Final Plea and Personalization
O! none but unthrifts. Dear my love, you know
You had a father: let your son say so.
Summary of Main Argument:
Only a spendthrift, an “unthrift,” would let such a house fall to ruin. In the final couplet, the speaker makes a personal and logical appeal: just as the youth had a father, he should continue the line and have a son who can say the same.
Interpretation:
The word “unthrift” echoes earlier sonnets, casting childlessness as a kind of moral and economic waste. “Dear my love” is an especially intimate address, elevating the emotional resonance. The closing line uses a simple, almost biblical logic of succession: as you had a father, so let your son say the same. It ties together love, duty, and mortality in a single generational chain.
Conclusion
Sonnet 13 is a masterful example of Shakespeare’s ability to blend poetic form with philosophical and emotional depth. Structured as a persuasive argument, the poem balances intimate affection with logical reasoning, urging the youth to preserve his beauty and identity through procreation. Each quatrain adds a new metaphor—lease, inheritance, house, storm—deepening the sense of urgency. The poem culminates in a powerful couplet that links love and legacy in one poignant appeal. In its structure, tone, and layered imagery, Sonnet 13 is a brilliant meditation on the fragility of human beauty and the longing for continuity in a transient world.