From Fairest Creatures, Sonnet 1, Shakespeare: Summary & Analysis
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"From fairest creatures we desire increase" is a Shakespearean sonnet that delves into the theme of time, beauty, and self-destructive behavior. The speaker contemplates the human desire for procreation to preserve beauty and memory, contrasting it with the self-absorption and cruelty exhibited by the subject of the poem. The poem highlights the tension between the fleeting nature of physical beauty and the destructive consequences of self-centeredness. "From fairest creatures we desire increase"
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauties Rose might neuer die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heire might beare his memory:
But thou contracted to thine owne bright eyes,
Feed’st thy lights flame with selfe substantiall fewell,
Making a famine where aboundance lies,
Thy selfe thy foe, to thy sweet selfe too cruell:
Thou that art now the worlds fresh ornament,
And only herauld to the gaudy spring,
Within thine owne bud buriest thy…