William Shakespeare’s Sonnet One (From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase) is the 1st of his 154 sonnets published in 1609. This is also the First of the “Fair Youth” sonnets, in which an unnamed man is being addressed by the speaker. In addition to that, it’s the First of the “procreation sonnets” where he feels compelled to convince the fair youth he’s addressing to get out there and get busy with procreation. Specifically, Shakespeare appears to be eluding to the selfishness displayed by the fair youth in not prolonging his youth and beauty by having offspring. His self-love (as opposed to giving love to another and to children) is viewed by the author as destructive not only to the fair youth but, really, to the world. This is because, if the youth never does marry and have offspring, his beauty will end prematurely, really by the youth’s own hand, and the world will no longer have access to it.
Sonnet One – From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase
From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel, Making a famine where abundance lies, Thy self thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel: Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament, And only herald to the gaudy spring, Within thine own bud buriest thy content, And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding: Pity the world, or else this glutton be, To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.