Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago

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In sonnet 11, Shakespeare argues that the young man needs to have
a child in order to maintain a balance in nature because
the young man gets older, his child's "fresh blood"
will act as a balance to his own old age. Shakespeare
offers an analogy between procreation and writing
poetry. The images of Sonnet 11 suggest that procreation
and posterity reflect art and craftsmanship: "She carved
thee for her seal, and meant thereby / Thou shouldst
print more, not let that copy die." If the the young man
dies without having a child, this ends any lasting image
of himself through his children.