Sonnet Two

This sonnet can be classified as a “Carpe Diem” poem, meaning “seize the day” in Latin.  In this case, the speaker is trying to once again convey to the boy the idea that he must have children.  The speaker is trying to make the idea more appealing to him that he must take this opportunity while he is still young.  He states that, after a while, he will start to lose his good looks with age.  He will become wrinkled and grey, with his good looks a thing of the past.  One way to combat this, however, is to have a child so that he could say that he gave all of his beauty to his child.  In his old age, he’d be able to justify his looks because of his children.  The way the sonnet was written makes it seem as though if the boy did not have children now, then he will lose all opportunity.  Therefore, he must seize this opportunity now before it is too late.