Astrophel and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney

Astrophel and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney

As it has been said time after time love is blind and you cannot help who you fall in love even if this time, place and circumstance is beyond your control. In this sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney he writes about his experience of love. This sonnet describes Sidney’s feelings and how deeply he is in love with a married woman whom he is forced to leave and give up on. Sidney’s character, Astrophel can tell how much Stella really loves him and is touched by him leaving. Although they are both in love with one another they would never be able to pursue their relationship due to her being married. Because Stella is overwhelmed with grief she must still dismiss Astrophel, but he leaves satisfy knowing that she loves him.

When reading this sonnet you can tell that Sir Philip Sidney writes to show the reader the undying love for a women and the impossibility of their union. The reader is able to hear the voice of a male professing his love. In the sequence you hear how he feels about Stella’s love for him, even though she dismiss him by rejection his not angry due to the fact that he knows she loves him. That makes him more satisfy than ever because he can leave knowing in his heart, mind and soul that she truly loves him.

If you were to break down the sonnet cycle one would be able to get the gradual rise and fall of a love affair. This one relates to the point in which the reader can realize that Stella loves him and that it is confirmed when so starts to cry and show how much it is hurting her to see him leave.

Stella is described as “the food” because she is the energy that feeds into his thoughts to help him continue. She is his everything and the meaning of his life. On line three “whose eyes make all my tempest clear”, Astrophel is expressing how her eyes are calming and brings him to peace. The peace is later removed and causes him distress when he