Astrophil and Stella's Introduction

Sir Philip Sidney composed Astrophil and Stella in 1582. It was not published, however, until 1591 in an unauthorized version published by Thomas Newman. The sonnet sequence consists of one hundred and eight sonnets and eleven songs, and is believed to cryptically address Sidney's affections toward Lady Penelope Devereaux. According to William A. Ringler, Sidney purposely hinted at his identity as the poem's speaker, and Devereaux as his beloved, Stella, dedicating three sonnets to the sole purpose of revealing her married name. Sidney plays the role of the "star lover" to Penelope's, Stella the "star" in one of the first English sonnet sequences.

Though critics usually agree on the purpose and object of the sonnets, there is no evidence that Sidney ever sent any of them to Devereaux. Stella is not addressed directly until sonnet 30, making Astrophil the central figure who, in Ringler's estimation, expresses his point of view in a kind of overheard conversational monologue (xliv). Sidney's grouping of the sonnets and songs mark the progress of Astrophil and Stella's courtship, consisting of three stages: the reactions of a sensitive, intelligent, and principled young man who finds the temptations of this new emotion unpleasant, because he cannot control them; the speaker's active pursuit of Stella; and his discovery that Stella loves him, but cannot return his affection, and that he must overcome his despair and desire to see her again. The sequence nicely charts the beginning, middle and end stages of a romance. Sidney had previously brought feminine rhyme back into prominence in English verse, yet none of the sonnets of Astrophil and Stella contain feminine rhyme, though according to Ringler, they do contain complete and phonetically accurate rhyme schemes (liv).

Sidney also chose an odd and foreign format for his first sonnet, which is in alexandrines, or six-foot iambic lines, a verse form derived from the French. According to Louis Untermeyer, strict adherence to the style demands that each line should have two equal parts, the sixth syllable ending a word (3). Because of the confines of this verse form, it may appear ironic that Sidney would use it to express his move away from artifice and toward his heart, as his Muse exhorts him in the concluding lines of the sonnet.

In the first lines of the sonnet, Astrophil voices his despair over his inability to express himself to his beloved. The first quatrain explicates his reasoning for wanting to write to Stella: he wishes to express his love through verse, and believes that if she would read what he wrote, she would then know of his "pain," feel sorry for him, and through that pity, offer him "grace." The second quatrain elaborates on his despair at not being able to express himself, even though he has studies "inventions fine" (see footnotes) and read others' works. The third quatrain expresses his inarticulateness through the metaphor of being in labor, yet unable to give birth. The couplet doubles as a climax and a solution because just as he is at his wits' end, his muse comes to him, and offers the advice to look within, rather than to others for imitation. It is interesting that the first sonnet of this sequence serves as a sort of invocation to the muses, which, although not being used in a epic, is nonetheless a quite powerful way to begin.

(Sources: Early Modern Texts Project)