Pregnancy

In the sixth line of the poem, the speaker writes that his tears are “pregnant of thee” (6). This does not refer to pregnancy in the literal sense, but rather as a metaphor for growth and creation. The speaker’s tears are “pregnant of” his beloved because she has created them – and thus, they are worth something, because they are a part of her. Furthermore, they reflect the image of the beloved like glass, making them “pregnant” of her visage.

However, pregnancy is also more than a mere metaphor in the poem. It appears as a motif several times, and is alluded to other times. For instance, the speaker refers to his tears as “fruits of much grief” (7). A fruit is the part of the plant that contains its seed, and therefore fruit is often used as a metaphor for fertility or for childbearing itself.

Subtler references...