Sonnet 3 by William Shakespeare

[kellyrfineman]

Today, one of the early poems to the Fair Youth sequence. Throughout the first seventeen sonnets, Shakespeare is urging the Fair Youth to find a woman and have children. This particular poem uses a farming metaphor that results in (among other things) a rather bawdy sexual reference involving ploughing and a rather clever double meaning of the word

Comments

[kellyrfineman]

It is a bit depressing. But the bawdiness balances it out for me, I think.

[boreal_owl]

Methinks Will doth spread the manure a bit thick, 'though I made merry at lines 5 and 6.

[kellyrfineman]

This one almost reads as if the Fair Youth's mother paid Will off - "I want grandchildren, already - talk him into it however you can!"

[p_sunshine]

This sonnet still gives me the willies. But I appreciated your discussion.

[kellyrfineman]

Thanks. I think.

[p_sunshine]

:) Let me rephrase - I liked reading the discussion even though that particular sonnet gives me the creeps.

[kellyrfineman]

I thought that might be what you meant. Is it the idea of one man urging another to breed that's creepy, or something else? (Enquiring minds want to know!)

[kellyrfineman]

Heh.