The careful crafting and planning of the poem condenses the amount of text needed to convey information. This is true of all art, as works are often judged qualitatively based on what they "say." Good works may carry a layer or two of hidden meaning behind their lines, but a masterpiece holds an infinite amount of knowledge masked in the spaces between the words. Literalists such as Shakespeare, Keats, and Albee construct vast symbolic subsystems in their works that interact within the confines of the work's consciousness. The actualization of a poet's conception is compared to the infinity of two mirrors facing each other. As you get closer to a masterpiece (by studying it) more layers are revealed and you are able to see the infinite possibilities of its analysis. As in the case of "glass" in Shakespeare's sonnet number three, a word can overturn meanings and make the soul of the masterpiece resonate clearly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Victorian times the word glass, while retaining its current meaning, could easily refer to a mirror or reflective surfaces such as water. Sonnet number three uses these meanings to show the paradox of legacies. The word appears and is referenced both literally and metaphorically. It is important to realize that the disparaging interpretations that arise from the meanings of "glass" do not necessarily contradict each other. Instead both meanings are recognized in a deeper contextual message, and all the images in sonnet number three combine to ask a question between carnal progeny and artistic inheritance. The first mention of the word appears in the first line as a strong command to the reader. The poem commands an abrasive self-evaluation and seemingly alienation from the physical body. "The Face You See" (1) contains no possessive articles that connect the reader to the image even though mentally they may be the same thing. This alienation leads to the second line in which the author, like a persuasive mother, invites procreation from the reader. The face in the mirror is precarious both in life and as an alienated object in poetry. Its repair and preservation occurs in this encouraged form of youthful renewal. Cleverly this idea is reinforced by a rhyme scheme that connects the renewal and stationing of the image with reflection through the rhyme of lines one and three. An entirely different interpretation of the quatrain becomes apparent when "glass" is understood in its traditional meaning of translucency. Line one now calls two separate figures instead of one split figure. The poem's self-consciousness now becomes visible when the reader is told to incite others to action. Both the poem and its commands are cries to the posterity of the self. They exude an importance that can "deceive the world" (4). Furthermore, each line of the first quatrain contains an extra suspended syllable. Emphasizing the message of the quatrain, the eleven-syllable lines make the poem very weighty, which provides affirmation and not condemnation by the final couplet. Consequently, the poem's self-consciousness and the author's virility call into question the actual earthly consummation of romantic couples. These first four lines could, instead of a plea for human preservation, be a poem's pleas for its own survival. The second and final mention of the word glass is found in line nine, “Thou art thy mother's glass.” These lines point towards the lifeline that family brings to an individual. Seeing yourself in a daughter extends your life.. 495.