Sonnet 10
For shame! deny that thou bear'st love to any,
self-love
legacy
beauty
procreation
For shame! deny that thou bear'st love to any,
Who for thyself art so unprovident.
Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many,
But that thou none lovest is most evident;
For thou art so possess'd with murderous hate
That 'gainst thyself thou stick'st not to conspire.
Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate
Which to repair should be thy chief desire.
O, change thy thought, that I may change my mind!
Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?
Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind,
Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove:
Make thee another self, for love of me,
That beauty still may live in thine or thee.
What It Means
Shakespeare accuses the young man directly: you don't love anyone, not even yourself. You plot against yourself by refusing to have children. The sonnet turns the self-love argument around — if you truly loved yourself, you'd want a copy of yourself to exist after you're gone. Grant yourself some love in the form of a child. This is the most personal the procreation arguments have been — less philosophical and more of a direct accusation.
Context
Tenth in the Procreation sequence. Shakespeare explicitly names the young man's selfishness: 'Grant, if thou wilt, thou art belov'd of many, / But that thou none lov'st is most evident.'
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