Sir Philip Sidney as a Sonneteer: A Discussion on "Astrophil and Stella"

Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), English poet, courtier, and soldier, is another reputed sonneteer of Renaissance period. During his tour of the continent for three years and stay at Venice he studied subjects like astronomy and music. The great Italian painters left an indelible impression on him. History, Italian literature, study of the poetry of Tasso interested him much. 

By the time he returned to England he had become an accomplished writer. In 1576, during his stay with his uncle Leicester at Kenilworth, he fell in love with Penelope, the twelve year old daughter of the Earl of Essex. Though the marriage did not materialize the attachment resulted in a series of sonnets addressed to the lady “Stella”- Sidney’s name for Penelope. Sonnets of Sidney were not published during his lifetime; many of “Stella” poems, however, circulated in manuscript.

Sir Philip Sidney 
(1554-1586)

In these literary effusions Sidney called himself “Astrophel”. This beautiful but ideal friendship continued till the end of his life. The Astrophil and Stella, a sequence of 108 sonnets celebrating a hopeless love affair, appeared in 1591, along with them appear eleven songs.  The collection tells the story of Astrophil (Greek for "star-lover") and his love for Stella (Latin for "star"), who is believed to be based on Sidney's own unrequited love for Penelope Devereux, who was married to another man.

The sonnets in Astrophil and Stella are structured around the progression of Astrophil's love for Stella, from infatuation to frustration, and ultimately to resignation. Sidney uses a range of poetic devices, including imagery and wordplay, to explore the complex emotions and experiences of the two lovers.

Sidney brings in “rare flashed of beauty, fine notes of passion, unforgettable phrases” occasionally in his sonnets. Astrophil and Stella was printed in 1591. A preface by Thomas Nashe introduced it as ‘the tragicomedy of love, performed by starlight, the argument, cruel chastity, the prolonged hope, the epilogue despair’. The sequence of 108 sonnets and 11 songs has as its heroine Stella (Star). Punning use of the word ‘rich’ in sonnets 24, 35 and 37 invites the reader to identify her with Penelope Devereux, who became Lady Rich on her marriage in 1581. She is courted by Astrophil (Star lover). He makes a confined list of 16^th century poetic conventions and styles in sonnet no.6. He debates the will and wit, reason and passion here. 

The collection is notable for its exploration of the theme of desire, as well as for its innovative use of the sonnet form. Sidney's sonnets often depart from the traditional Italian sonnet form, and he frequently uses enjambment (continuing a sentence from one line to the next) to create a sense of natural flow and movement in his verse.

Sidney's sonnets are often characterized by their formal structure, which follows the traditional Italian sonnet form of fourteen lines with a rhyme scheme of ABAB ABAB CDCD EE. However he alters his rhyme schemes freely throughout the poem. Another key feature of Sidney's sonnets is their use of imagery, which often draws on natural metaphors to explore the themes of love and beauty. For example, in Sonnet 31, Sidney compares the beloved's beauty to the rising moon and the changing seasons, demonstrating his ability to create vivid and evocative imagery through his use of language. It conveys Astrophil’s thoughts while seeing the moon at night. The play of wit is made equally by the use of such figures of speech as the pun, the personification and so on in the lines bellow from Sonnet 1:

“Invention, Nature’s child, fled step-dame Study’s blows;        

And others’ feet still seemed but strangers in my way.”

Sidney's sonnets also often explore the theme of mortality, reflecting the influence of classical literature and philosophy on his writing. In Sonnet 7, for example, Sidney , along with his frustrated longing for love, reflects on the fleeting nature of beauty and the inevitability of death, a theme that was also explored by other Elizabethan poets such as William Shakespeare.

Astrophil and Stella was a significant influence on later poets, including William Shakespeare, who borrowed elements of Sidney's sonnets in his own work. The collection is also regarded as a landmark in the development of the English sonnet tradition, and it remains a popular and influential work in English literature. Thus, Sidney is undoubtedly a versatile personality and his genius is many sized. He cannot be equated to Edmund Spenser in expression and range. Sidney was an aesthete in literature. Knowing full well what to say he sometimes lacked how to say it in the right manner.

Ardhendu De

Ref:

1. English Literature by William J. Long. (n.d.). Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10609   

2.  Microsoft Students’ Encarta

3. Philip Sidney - Wikipedia. (2011, October 29). Philip Sidney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sidney