Analysis of Astrophil and Stella by Sir Phillip Sidney Essay

Analysis of Astrophil and Stella by Sir Phillip Sidney In Sir Philip Sidneys Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1, there is an observable poetic structure that can be analyzed on a literal as well as a figurative level in an attempt to gain a logical understanding of the poem. Sidneys style of writing appears to be easily interpreted on a literal level, yet there is a deeper and more complex dimension of figurative elements, such as metaphors, that require further exploration and examination to unveil their complete meaning. In addition, this sonnet encompasses complex speech that must be interpreted through its underlying meaning and not what it appears to be on the surface. Firstly, Sidney uses a fairly concise structure†¦show more content†¦When reading, there is a tendency to slow down the B words to capture their actual meanings. The turn, or deviation of tone, appears between the octave of the first eight lines and the sestet of the last six lines where the variation in rhyme scheme also takes place. At this point, the tone change suggests the speaker has a blank mind due to an absence of imagination causing a lack of words to express the ideas that he is so filled with. On a more literal level, there are several aspects that compliment and are complimented by the structure of this poem, such as tone, metaphor, and other literary elements. Firstly, the speaker of this poem is a lover who is attempting to write to his love to try to make her feel so beloved and overtaken by the most perfect words he has chosen, yet in the midst of him trying to write, his mind goes blank and he cannot think of anything to say to her. The angry tone toward the end of the sonnet is evident by the speaker saying, Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite (line 13). The speaker also seems woeful when he says, Thus, great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes (line12) which is ironic because he is trying to make his love woeful, yet he is the one who is sad and wallowing in his pain. Through the fast-pace d flow of the poem, we as readers are forced to understand that his anger is a legitimate result of Nature failing to grant him an imagination to compose love poetry. Our tendency toShow MoreRelatedLoving Un Truth, and Fain in Verse My Love to Show1407 Words   |  6 PagesPhilip Sidney Analysis 1: Like other creative persons of the period, Sidney also came under the influence of sonneteering. Thus a series of sonnets addressed to a single lady, expressing and reflecting on the developing relationship between the poet and his love grew up. Though the story does not have to be literal autobiography and questions of ‘sincerity’ are hardly answered, Sidney’s love for Stella, on the artistic level, has been traced to love-affair of the poet’s own life. Stella is said