Womb or Tomb: Shakespeare's Sonnets

“Tomb” is a somber rhyme for “womb,” the destination of the dead rather than the source of life. What is headed for the tomb? If the youth doesn’t reproduce, his own self-love will go into the tomb, and posterity will die. That is: It’s to his own advantage for the youth to have a child, and he can’t be so silly, insane or “fond” as to kill his own self-interest. If he is so fond, then he will become his own tomb, the tomb of his own self-love. The rhyme starkly sets out the options: Plough and fill a womb, or stand aloof and his body will become tomb of his own self-love.