Astrophil and Stella Questions and Answers
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 5, "It is most true, that eyes are formed to serve" from Astrophil and Stella by...
The first four lines establish the poet's belief that when we are in love, we act in ways that cause us harm: . . . and those who deviate from its rules Are rebels against Nature, and their...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the analyses of Sir Philip Sidney's Sonnet 71?
Sir Philip Sidney's Sonnet 71 deals with the desire of Astrophel for Stella. He contemplates all that she is and ponders Love and Virtue and the connection between the two. Asptrophel relates that...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 20, "Fly, fly, my friends," from Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney?
Since Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet cycle, understanding some sonnets depends upon first understanding certain others. In this instance, understanding Sonnet 20 depends upon first...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 3, "Let dainty wits cry on the sisters nine," from Astrophil and Stella by Sir...
In the first four lines, Sidney admonishes the affected intellectuals who call on "the Sisters nine" (the nine muses) in order to mask their works with "flourishes" the poets themselves cannot...
Astrophil and Stella
What is Sir Philip Sidney trying to say in Sonnet 71 of the "Astrophil and Stella" series?
Who will in fairest book of nature knowHow virtue may best lodg'd in beauty be,Let him but learn of love to read in thee,Stella, those fair lines which true goodness show.There shall he find all...
Astrophil and Stella
Compare and contrast Sir Philip Sidney's Sonnet 39 from Astrophil and Stella to Samuel Daniel's Sonnet 45 from Delia.
Sir Philip Sidney was one of the earliest sonneteers, posthumous publication of his sonnets in 1591 predating Spenser's (1595), Daniel's (1592), and Shakespeare's (1609) sonnets). He used a...
Astrophil and Stella
Identify the literary terms in Sonnet 1 Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philp Sidney.
Among the literary devices used most prominently by Sidney in Sonnet 1 is personification. He mentions his attempt to find inspiration for his own poetry in the work of others: Oft turning others'...
Astrophil and Stella
Analyze Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1 by Sir Philip Sidney.
To analyze the first sonnet in Sidney's sequence Astrophil and Stella, I will break it down into sections and then discuss how the writer uses poetic techniques to create effect or meaning. The...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 54, "Because I breathe not love to every one," from Astrophil and Stella by Sir...
By what outward signs do we truly know that somebody is in love? This is the question that this sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney seeks to address. The sonnet opens by listing the number of things that...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 74, "I never drank of Aganippe well," from Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip...
This sonnet is similar to many other sonnets in the Astrophil and Stella sequence of sonnets, as it talks about and discusses the impact of love on the speaker and the way in which his Muse,...
Astrophil and Stella
What are the poetic devices used in the 6th sonnet of Astrophil and Stella by Philip Sidney?
Sonnet 6 of Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella displays some interesting poetic features in the realms of meter, rhyme, diction, imagery, and mythology. The sonnet is composed of fourteen lines...
Astrophil and Stella
What implication about the speaker’s experience in love is found in sonnet XXXI (31) of Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet...
Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence describes the infatuation of Astrophil (“star-lover”) with Stella (“star”). Because of this infatuation, everything that Astrophil sees...
Astrophil and Stella
What are the poetic devices used in the 6th sonnet of Astrophil and Stella?
In this sonnet, Sidney's poetic devices include anaphora, antithesis, alliteration, and allusion, along with metaphor. Anaphora occurs when repeated lines of poetry begin with the same word or...
Astrophil and Stella
In what terms is love dealt with in Astrophil and Stella, specifically in Sonnet 62?
In Astrophel and Stella, the speaker/poet is Astrophel whose name means love of a star. "Phel" or "phil" as it is sometimes spelled is a suffix meaning "love." "Astro" comes from the Greek word...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 15, "You that do search for every purling spring," in Astrophil and Stella by Sir...
Understanding Sidney's sonnets requires more than a simple reading. In some, the syntactical alterations need to be mastered; in some the structure needs to be understood; in some their place in...
Astrophil and Stella
Analyze sonnet 2 of "Astrophil and Stella" in detail.
In sonnet 2 of "Astrophil and Stella," Sidney presents us with a complex study of love that departs considerably from the standard view of poets such as Petrarch. Whereas Petrarch fell in love with...
Astrophil and Stella
How might one interpret sonnet 28 of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence?"
In sonnet 28 of Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence, Astrophil rejects allegorical or symbolic interpretations of his poetry. In lines 1-3 he addresses those who make a habit...
Astrophil and Stella
Analyse Astrophil and Stella sonnet 18 by Sir Philip Sidney
Astrophil laments how he has lost and wasted the gifts that Nature provided him with at birth. Heaven has "lent" him such qualities as his "youth," "knowledge," and "wit." He describes how Reason...
Astrophil and Stella
Can anyone explain Sir Philip Sidney's "sonnet 23?"
In the first stanza, the intellectuals that surround our speaker see a kind of quiet thoughtfulness in the speaker's eyes, so they begin to guess what might be the cause—though the speaker tells us...
Astrophil and Stella
In regards to Astrophil and Stella's sonnet 18, what are some literary devices, such as symbols, metaphors, similes,...
In sonnet 18, Philip Sidney employs a conceit, or extended metaphor, throughout the poem. Metaphor is direct comparison of unlike things for effect. The speaker, Astrophil, uses numerous financial...
Astrophil and Stella
What are the first and the second themes of sonnet 1 of Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney?
First and foremost, sonnet 1 of Astrophil and Stella is a poem about poetry, a manifesto for the style of writing we are to find in the sonnet sequence to come. The poet begins with the right...
Astrophil and Stella
Which literary techniques appear in some of the poems from Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence?
Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet sequence by Sir Philip Sidney that contains over one hundred sonnets. It is thought that the figure of Astrophil, the speaker, represents Sidney himself and that...
Astrophil and Stella
Allusions are a distinguishing feature of sir Philip Sydney's sonnet sequence 'Astrophel and Stella' Elaborate.
Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet sequence and "songs" that relate the love and obsession of Astrophil, whose name means "star-lover" in Greek, for Stella, whose name means "star" in Latin. Thus,...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the tone of Sonnet 1 in "Astrophel and Stella" by Sir Philip Sidney?
The tone of Sonnet 1 in "Astrophel and Stella" by Sir Philip Sidney varies over the course of the poem, following the convention of the Shakespearian, or English sonnet, in having a minor turn...
Astrophil and Stella
Who is referred to as being in the “fairest book of nature” in Sonnet 71 from Astrophil and Stella?
To be clear from the outset, Stella is not the “fairest book of nature” herself, but she is certainly a very important part of it. The speaker of the sonnet invites anyone who wishes to observe a...
Astrophil and Stella
Explain the conceit of "Sonnet 31" from Sidney's sequence Astrophil and Stella.
The central conceit of this poem is based around the personification of the moon as a love-struck individual, much as the speaker of the sonnet is frustrated in love. The speaker, in this sonnet,...
Astrophil and Stella
Please explain the following four lines from the first sonnet of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella: Loving...
In the first line, the speaker says he truly loves his beloved and is willing ("fain") to be vulnerable by revealing his love in his poetry. He does this, he says in line two, because he imagines...
Astrophil and Stella
How might one interpret Sir Philip Sidney's Sonnet 40, "As good to write, as for to lie and groan," from his...
Like many sonnets in Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence, sonnet 40 presents Astrophil as a kind of idolator who blames Stella, the object of his idolatry, for the suffering he...
Astrophil and Stella
What are the literary devices found in the first sonnet of Philip Sydney's Astrophil and Stella?
The first, and most well-known, sonnet of Philip Sydney's sonnet sequence, Astrophil and Stella, uses many different literary devices. The most obvious is meter. The poem is written in iambic...
Astrophil and Stella
What are the theme and the subject matter of the sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella by Sir Phlip Sidney? Please...
If one were asked to state in one sentence the theme of Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, one might offer a sentence such as this: “The theme of Astrophil and Stella is the...
Astrophil and Stella
Please comment upon the oxymorons in line 4 of "Some lovers speak, when they their Muses entertain" in Sonnet 6 by...
An oxymoron is a literary device in which two opposites are put together. This can create a jarring effect that causes a reader to stop and think. Line four of Sidney's poem follows, and it...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 53, "In martial sports I had my cunning tried," from Astrophil and Stella by Sir...
This sonnet, as with all of the Astrophil and Stella sequence by Sir Philip Sidney, deals with the impact of love on the speaker as he seeks to articulate the change that has come upon him now that...
Astrophil and Stella
How might one analyze sonnet 19 ("On Cupid's bow how are my heart-strings bent") from Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil...
Sonnet 19 of Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence might be analyzed in various ways, including the following: The poem opens with a line emphasizing a major theme of this sonnet...
Astrophil and Stella
Can anyone explain Sir Philip Sidney's "Sonnet 21"?
This sonnet contains two speakers. The first seems to be a friend of Astrophil who notes that Astrophil's love is causing his behavior to shift. Astrophil has been losing his sense of reason, his...
Astrophil and Stella
In what ways is Sir Philip Sidney a "Petrarchan" poet? Please use the following poems from Astrophil and Stella as...
I have only a few brief points to add to the excellent answer already posted. One involves the title names of Sidney's poetic cycle. The names for himself and his beloved are symbolic (although of...
Astrophil and Stella
In Sonnet 31 by Sir Philip Sidney, what does the last line reveal about Astrophel's view on love?
Astrophel and Stella is a series of sonnets by Sir Philip Sidney, each of which expounds upon a different element or emotion of Astrophel’s unrequited love for Stella. In Sonnet 31, Astrophel is...
Astrophil and Stella
Do Sir Philip Sidney's sonnets 71 and 81 (from Astrophil and Stella) illustrate his own ideas about poetry as set...
In his Apology for Poetry, Sir Philip Sidney argues that the purpose of the poet is to imitate: and imitate both to delight and teach: and delight to move men to take that goodness in hand, which...
Astrophil and Stella
How is the nature of love characterized in Astrophil and Stella? How successful is Atrophil's suit? How convincing...
It is possible to argue that in Astrophil and Stella, Sidney presents a highly ironic view of secular, earthly love. Astrophil seems mainly interested in Stella's physical beauty and in her...
Astrophil and Stella
I need an interpretation of sonnet 14, "Alas, have I not pain enough" by Sir Philip Sidney.
This sonnet is part of the Astrophel and Stella sequence of sonnets by Sir Philip Sidney, which chart the struggle of the speaker to embrace his emotions for his lover. This sonnet focuses on the...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the conceit around which the sonnet cycle Astrophil and Stella written by Philip Sydney is built?
A conceit is an unconventional metaphor that compares two things in illogical or surprising ways as opposed to more conventional metaphors comparing things that are more apparently similar, like...
Astrophil and Stella
How might one interpret sonnet 30 ("Whether the Turkish new moon minded be") of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and...
In sonnet 30 of Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, Astrophil once more stresses his obsession with Stella. He claims that when others ask him questions about international...
Astrophil and Stella
What is an interpretation of Sonnet 27, "Because I oft, in dark abstracted guise," written by Sir Philip Sidney.
The beginning of understanding Sidney's Sonnet 27 (sonnet cycle c. 1575-1585) lies in grasping the structure, as there may be several structures to sonnets. The structure of this sonnet opposes...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the relationship between truth, artifice, and sincerity in "Astrophil and Stella"?
The first sonnet of Sidney's sequence "Astrophil and Stella" explores the failure of the poet's artifice in reflecting the truth and ends with an implied pledge of sincerity as the Muse tells the...
Astrophil and Stella
Justify the title Astrophil and Stella.
The names Astrophil and Stella mean, respectively, "star-lover" and "star." The title, therefore, can be justified as accurately depicting the main subject of the sonnets, which is Astrophil's love...
Astrophil and Stella
How might one analyze sonnet 18 from Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence?
Sonnet 18 from Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence is typical of the sequence as a whole in many ways, including the following: The sonnet begins with an emphasis on...
Astrophil and Stella
In general, what is the purpose of alliteration in the lines of a poem (other than keeping the rhyme)?
The term in rhetoric for intentionally altering standard English word order of Subject Verb Object (SVO) to another order, for example OVS or VSO or OSV, is hyperbaton. Hyperbaton in its various...
Astrophil and Stella
How might Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence be described as "Petrarchan"?
The adjective “Petrarchan” alludes to the writings of the 14th-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca (known in English as “Petrarch”). Petrarch’s most influential compositions consisted of a...
Astrophil and Stella
How does Sidney critique the "courtly love" relationship using his Sonnet Sequence Astrophil and Stella?
Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet sequence that was inspired by Sidney's relationship with Penelope Devereux. Sidney was in love with Penelope, but she married another man. This...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the tone of Sonnet 55 in the Astrophil and Stella cycle by Sir Philip Sidney?
Sonnet 55 of Sidney's Astrophil and Stella cycle has two tones. The first is a matter-of-fact tone while Astrophil speaks of his partnership with the Muses. The second is a love-struck tone as...
Astrophil and Stella
What is the significance of the rhetorical questions in the sestet of the sonnet "Astrophel and Stella XXXI" by Sir...
The narrator, Astrophil, is suffering from unrequited love and notes how "wan [pale] a face" the moon has as it rises. Astrophil projects his own experience onto the moon, imagining that it must be...
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