Literary Analysis Astrophil And Stella - 1855 Words

‘Astrophil and Stella’ was first published in 1591 by the renowned Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney. The Petrarchan styled sonnet sequence is comprised of 108 verses, and 11 songs in which the speaker, Astrophil shares his innermost thoughts and passions with regards to his love for a woman named Stella, the addressee of his lyric poetry. Each sonnet reconnoitres a slightly different phase of Astrophil’s love for Stella as their circumstances revolt; yet it details little of her fondness for him, as she neither rejects nor reciprocates his love, alluding to a fairly misleading romance. As the sonnets unfold, Stella weds another man, however when Astrophil learns she is miserable in her matrimony, he again becomes profusely engrossed in her. This sequence is significant as Stella eventually returns Astrophil’s adoration, but is ultimately plagued by her morality and cannot participate in carnal affairs with him as she is still wed, and this differentiates prominently with Sidney’s character Astrophil who is consumed with sexual longing for the woman he loves. As a result of Astrophil’s fixated nature, Stella refuses to continue to see him, and the closing sonnets reveal Astrophil’s thoughts and conflicting views on the matter. In the final verse, Astrophil grasps his immoral actions, and is anguished by the absenteeism of Stella from his life; however he feels some respite in knowing she once returned his love. From the three sonnets I have selected, I will now focus uponShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Astrophil and Stella by Sir Phillip Sidney Essay824 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis 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 examinationRead MoreLoving 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 toRead MoreSir Philip Sidney and an Analysis of Six of his Poems Essay4370 Words   |  18 PagesOxford, which resulted in his being reprimanded by the Queen, reminding him that he was a mere gentleman and was far from the seventeenth earl of Oxford. (Kuin) Sidney then wrote his Arcadia, a Deference of Poesy (Apology for Poetry), and â€Å"Astrophil and Stella† or star and star lover while staying in a country house with his sister and her husband. The Deference of Poesy combined Cont inental Concepts with English conditions. It was in the form of a legal speech claiming that imaginative writing wasRead MoreRhetorical Devices3007 Words   |  13 Pagesand a number of rhetorical devices are worth considering in any analysis of style. For the analysis of literature a knowledge of rhetorical devices is indispensable, since there is often a considerable density of rhetorical figures and tropes which are important generators and qualifiers of meaning and effect. This is particularly the case in poetry. Especially the analysis of the use of imagery is important for any kind of literary text. (For further details see Analysing a Metaphor and Symbol)