Sidney Love Sonnet - 1298 Words

Valuing Power During the Elizabethan Era, the English thrived in the ways of culture. Literature, poetry, theater, and music all saw tremendous advancement. Love sonnets became particularly popular due to the opportunity they offered their authors to express their most alluring desires, while sticking to the strict guidelines of a sonnet. One particular 16th century writer, Sir Philip Sidney, wrote love sonnets that followed the relationship of the desire-ridden Astrophil and the object of his affection, Stella. Poetry at this time often had political or religious influences, and Sidney’s work was no exception. Focusing specifically on Sonnet 69, Sidney metaphorically relates a personal experience to a political gain, suggesting that†¦show more content†¦There was constant speculation over whether or not a woman was fit to rule, so a man no doubt would have stolen not only her power, but the people’s respect as well. In order to understand the political agenda present in the sonnet, one must notice the power Elizabeth I would have lost with a marriage, versus the power that Astrophil figuratively gained through obtaining Stella’s love. In order for suitors to gain power from either woman, the women had to have had power for them to acquire. Similar to Queen Elizabeth, Stella is portrayed as a woman of power and appears to be highly sought after. Her love was an indescribably, wonderful prize to the speaker, just as Queen Elizabeth’s hand in marriage would have been quite an accomplishment for any nobleman. Words such as â€Å"nobler†, â€Å"kings†, â€Å"covenants†, and â€Å"monarchs† are all present in the poem, not only alluding to the political agenda present in the work, but possibly Stella’s societal position. Elizabeth I was showered with ravishing gifts and compliments routinely by her courtiers. These men of her court sought to woo and impress the unattainable queen. This need to g rasp the queen’s attention also pertains to the relationship between writing love sonnets and court politics as a whole under Queen Elizabeth. The frustration that follows loving someone and that love not being reciprocated was a vital aspect of much of the love poetry at the time. This popularShow MoreRelated Love Sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Sir Philip Sidney1790 Words   |  8 PagesLove is a difficult thing to express in words in any given language. It is near impossible to convey the paradoxical pain and pleasure of love that sounds dreadfully horrid but simultaneously magical. Most people are often confused and have a hard time figuring and sorting out exactly how they feel and felt about their love and relationship. However, to love someone or be loved by someone is a special gift, and to be able to convey your gratitude for whatever you received out of the relationshipRead MoreComparing Two Love Sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Sir Philip Sidney1797 Words   |   8 PagesLove is a difficult thing to express in words in any given language. It is near impossible to convey the paradoxical pain and pleasure of love that sounds dreadfully horrid but simultaneously magical. Most people are often confused and have a hard time figuring and sorting out exactly how they feel and felt about their love and relationship. However, to love someone or be loved by someone is a special gift, and to be able to convey your gratitude for whatever you received out of the relationshipRead MoreThe Love Of Another Is Not An Original Subject For Poetry1603 Words   |  7 Pages Yearning for the love of another is not an original subject for poetry. However, this age-old theme is expressed through the style of Petrarchan love in the poems Love, that doth reign and live within my thought and Astrophil and Stella 1. Love, that doth reign and live within my thought, was written by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in the mid-sixteenth century (Greenblatt and Logan 386). Sidney wrote his series of sonnets entitled Astrophil and Stella in 1580, describing his relationship with PenelopeRead MoreThe William Shakespeare898 Words   |  4 Pagesdevotes the major part of his sonnet sequence to a young man and the rest are devoted to a woman. The language Shakespeare used to describe his love toward these two persons is totally different. In the sonnet sequence, his love toward the young man can be described as the compassionate love. At the same time, one could characterize his love toward the lady as an example of passionate love. Shakespeare expresses his non-sexual love to the young man in his sonnets. He respects the young man andRead MorePhilip Sidneye And Sonnet 1709 Words   |  3 Pagesthe sonnet: a fouteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme written to earn a woman’s love. In sonnet 1 by Edmund Spenser, sonnet 31 by Philip Sidney, and sonnet 130 and 29 by William Shakespeare, the authors focus on romanticizing love in order to emphasize the importance of developing a relationship with a lady and earning her love. This is accomplished through the use of personification, similes, and allusions. Spenser and Sidney both utilize personification in their sonnets. In Sonnet 1,Read MoreThe Sonnet Poetry By William Sidney929 Words   |  4 Pageshumanist while at court to now private. The Petrarchan sonnet poetry with lines with rhyme schemes made up of eight lines of octave and sestet of six lines. Petrarch poetry deals with the rejection of unrequited love. The Petrarchan sonnets, flows by respond to each other with sexual frustration due to rejection. Petrarch elaborates figures of speech to express his emotions. Phillip Sidney is a noble who uses poetry for personal use. Sidney uses personae to establish poetry can teach a human mindRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Astrophil And Stella 1692 Words   |  7 PagesSir Philip Sidney uses his poem Astrophil and Stella as an outlet for expressing the way that his personal and public life could be felt as unfulfilling, while also sharing the lessons he has learned from this. Astrophil and Stella is a poem centered around love that c an not be fully attained. Sidney’s personal love life and his public political life could be seen as influences of the sonnets as they both have aspects of being unfulfilled, but Sidney’s view of poetry might seem to contradict theRead MoreLoving Un Truth, and Fain in Verse My Love to Show1407 Words   |  6 Pagesfain in verse My love to Show Philip 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’sRead More Petrified Petrarch Essay1403 Words   |  6 PagesPetrified Petrarch Two hundred years had passed between the sonnets of Petrarch and the reign of Queen Elizabeth. As a form and structure for poetic life, the sonnet had grown hard. Fourteen lines of rhymed iambic pentameter remained pregnant with possibilities and vitality, but must the sense turn after the octave and resolve in the sestet? Love remained in some ways inexpressible without this basic verse form, but something wasn’t right. Too many rose red lips and too much snow white skinRead MoreCompare and Contrast the Ways Philip Sidneys Astrophil and Stella and Miltons Comus explore Gender and Sexuality.948 Words   |  4 Pagessixteenth and the seventeenth century, new ideas and motives in arts, inspired by the past but concerned with new concepts, appeared. Building on a courtly love, some writers and poets attempted to discuss the nature of love by commenting on gender issues and sexuality (MacArthur, 1989). Thus, love conventions, based on a passion or an unrequited love, would chang e, challenging social norms and discussing male and female sexualities. On the one hand, the authors explore male sexualities and a desire