An Analysis Of Astrophil And Stella By Sir Philip Sidney

mind was no longer just between men and women; it was now the working and the

While the woman may outwardly profess her desire for her sexual partner, the dispassionate diction and detached tone within the sonnet suggest otherwise. For, in acknowledging her lover’s close proximity, she states that she is “urged”

The main theme within Clarke’s Sonnet is his distance and inability to communicate with a lover. This poem is written for his lover as an attempt to connect with her, although within the poem, he is continuing to communicate poorly. The way in which he copes with this broken relationship drives the tone of the poem.

The main theme within Clarke’s Sonnet is his distance and inability to communicate with a lover due to his alcoholism, and the way in which his coping mechanism, and alcoholism affects this relationship. In the opening octet,

This sonnet has very smooth and fluid feel to it, most of which can be attributed to the iambic pentameter and Elizabethan sonnet rhyme scheme as well as the numerous sound

Written in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, one could hardly mistake it for anything so pleasant. Sonnets being traditionally used for beautiful, appealing topics, already there is contradiction between

A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme in a particular pattern. William Shakespeare’s sonnets were the only non-dramatic poetry that he wrote. Shakespeare used sonnets within some of his plays, but his sonnets are best known as a series of one hundred and fifty-four poems. The series of one hundred and fifty-four poems tell a story about a young aristocrat and a mysterious mistress. Many people have analyzed and contemplated about the significance of these “lovers”. After analysis of the content of both the “young man” sonnets and the “dark lady sonnets”, it is clear that the poet, Shakespeare, has a great love for the young man and only lusts after his mistress.

“On Being Cautioned against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic,” Charlotte Smith’s sonnet, comments on the poet’s feelings toward this lunatic and the thought process he instigates in her mind. By using different syntax to describe her two characters, Smith draws the attention of the reader to the message in the sonnet instead of the scene on the surface. The structure of the English sonnet also lends to the poem’s power, giving Smith a perfect avenue to deliver her message.

In the opening lines of Millay’s poem, it seems as if she is speaking to a lover. The tone of the poem is set in the first line, “in some quite casual way” (1). Throughout the sonnet, one senses a frighteningly casual tone, something very matter of fact, as if these fourteen lines are a passing thought in Millay’s head. The alliteration of “quite casual” supports the plain-spoken tone, giving a feel of simple, everyday speech. Millay imagines that as she is on the subway, she casually glances over and notices on “the back-page of a paper, say / Held by a neighbor” (3-4) her lover is gone and not to return.

The structure of this poem is rather notable. It mimics the structure of a Clare sonnet, fourteen lines, iambic pentameter, AABBCCDDEEFFGG rhyme scheme. Both Italian and Shakespearean sonnets tended to be love poems. However, the Clare sonnet doesn’t quite fit properly with either, it’s a touch more simplistic in nature, which lends this poem something akin to irony. This poem isn’t simply a love poem, it’s poem about the frustration of love along with being a cautionary tale. It has a more

Some would say that some of the greatest works of love literature of all time were written during the Renaissance era; passages and the truest forms of love. Two poets that stood out to me that claimed that they had captured the true essence of love in their poems were William Shakespeare and John Donne. While Donne and Shakespeare wrote many poems, and works on the subject of love the two that seem to capture the quintessential and transcendental love that was often described in this era are The Sun Rising by John Donne, and chapter three, act five from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, also known as Romeo and Juliet’s Dawn Song. While Romeo and Juliet’s dialogue is similar to The Sun

This sonnet serves to invoke a strong sense of realism in love, arguing that as strong an intensity of emotion as may be held, may be held, without the need for delusions of grandeur, taking the view that trying to reconcile two essentially different and diverse things as equal is to do true justice to neither. The beloved in this case thus represents more the need for a character developed to challenge stereotype than an actual real-life woman,

As opposed to the majority of Shakespeare’s sonnets in the series that are addressed to an unnamed young man, sonnet 60 deals largely with the relentless approach of time and its war against humanity rather than love. In this sonnet, the breaking of the poetic form expected of a sonnet is utilized to not only enhance the specific localized metaphors in the poem, but the overall thematic content as well. By taking the traditional iambic pentameter and presenting moments of disruption, this poem draws attention to the dramatization of Time’s march against humanity, and also to the ability of the writer of this poem who appears in the final couplet. In this paper, I intend to look specifically at the utilization of trochaic feet in order to examine the ways in which the manipulation of metrical devices can create meaning.

     The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.

‘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 upon