Sonnet 1 Reflection

This was an excellent way for Shakespeare to open up his sonnets. The first line tells a truth about human beings that most anyone would agree with as a general statement. Human beings naturally want more beauty. Assuming that Mr. WH agreed, as most people would, it would have set him up for the sonnet to have a greater meaning for him. Shakespeare talks a lot about how Mr. WH needs to procreate and uses the idea of everlasting beauty through family lineage as encouragement. After all, if what the first line states is true and human beings naturally want more beauty then this idea of passing beauty through the family would have been extremely appealing for Mr. WH. Shakespeare tells Mr. WH that he is essentially his own worst enemy. This is the first of the many sonnets that are supposed to get Mr. WH to start a family and I think would have made him much more receptive to the following sonnets.