In Sonnet 9, the speaker queries the young man about another possible reason for his remaining single: does he fear leaving some poor woman a widow?
First Quatrain
In the first quatrain, the speaker bluntly puts the question to the young man: “Is it for fear to wet a widow’s eye / That thou consum’st thyself in single life?” The speaker continues to broach the subject from all angles, chiding the young man for not marrying. Now the idea has crossed the speaker’s mind that the lad does not want to take the chance of leaving behind a crying widow.
But the speaker’s spin on such a fear is that if the young man dies “issueless,” that is, without offspring, he will make the whole world sad crying for him, not just a poor woman who would then be without a mate upon his death. Thus, the speaker wants to young man to think in broader terms than just one family.
Second Quatrain
The speaker frames his claim quite clearly as he repeats: “The world will be thy widow, and still weep / That thou no form of thee hast left behind.” Not only would the world weep like a widow, but it would also mourn that fact that the young man left no pleasing heir to follow him.
A widow may continue to enjoy her children and in them the memory and appearance of the husband. The speaker hopes again to play on the sympathy of the young man, while offering him logical possibilities to consider. The young man’s single life is found wanting in every way in the eyes of this speaker, who might be considered meddling in affairs which are none of his business.
Third Quatrain
In the third quatrain, the speaker offers another logical argument to support his urging the young man to marry and produce offspring. When a spendthrift extravagantly squanders his money on things he does not need, he does not really do any damage in the world; he moves things around a bit. The money and the material things still belong to world.
But when one wastes one’s beauty, one wastes something of value, and its value is precious because it will end. If one does not pass on one’s beauty and pleasing qualities by siring pleasing offspring, he simply destroys that beauty. The speaker plays on the vanity as well as the sympathy of the young man, as he uses his powers of persuasion.
The Couplet
In the couplet, the speaker implies a stark reality: “No love toward others in that bosom sits / That on himself such murderous shame commits.” He frankly opines that the young man could not possibly possess a loving heart and affection toward his fellow human beings, if he is so selfish as to waste his beauty and pleasing qualities on himself, while failing to father the next generation of beauty and pleasing qualities. The speaker accuses the young man of committing a “murderous shame”—an exaggeration aimed at stirring the lad to action.
Other articles on Shakespeare:
Sonnet Commentaries
Sonnet 1, Sonnet 2, Sonnet 3, Sonnet 4, Sonnet 5, Sonnet 6, Sonnet 7, Sonnet 8, Sonnet 9, Sonnet 10, Sonnet 11, Sonnet 12, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 19, Sonnet 116, Sonnet 126, Sonnet 130
