Sonnet 31
Sir Philip Sidney
Robert Harter, 2014
Sir Philip Sidney…
• Born November 30, 1554, in Penhurst, England.
• Part of Queen Elizabeth I’s court.
• An ardent Protestant.
• Part of a famous literary family, including Lady Mary Wroth.
• Wrote Arcadia, The Defence of Poesy, and Astrophil and Stella
among other works.
• Appointed governor of Flushing in the Netherlands.
• Wounded by a musket shot in a battle against the Spanish, died
twenty-two days later at the age of thirty-two.
• Gave his water to another wounded soldier and said, “Thy
necessity is greater than mine.”
Robert Harter, 2014
Astrophil and Stella…
• Was written in the 1580s.
• Translates to “Starlover and Star” From the Greek words ‘aster’ meaning
star, ‘phil’ meaning lover, and the Latin word ‘stella’ meaning star.
• Is part of a sonnet cycle containing 108 sonnets and eleven songs.
• Influenced by Petrachan conventions.
• Concerns a lover who yearns after a
woman who does not return his earnest feelings.
• Supposedly written about Penelope Devereux, a woman whom Sidney
loved but lost because she married Robert Rich, a courtier. (Astrophil is
thought to be Sir Philip Sidney and Stella is thought to be Penelope.)
Robert Harter, 2014
Penelope
With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the skies !
How silently, and with how wan a face !
What, may it be that even in heavenly place
That busy archer his sharp arrows tries?
Sure, if that long-with-love-acquainted eyes
Can judge of love, thou feel'st a lover's case;
I read it in thy looks; thy languisht grace
To me that feel the like, thy state descries.
Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me,
Is constant love deemed there but want of wit?
Are beauties there as proud as here they be?
Do they above love to be loved, and yet
Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess?
Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?
Robert Harter, 2014
• The sonnet is divided into an octet and a sestet
Petrarchan Sonnet
• Sidney further divides the sestet into two tercets
consisting of a two-line question followed by a one-line
question.
• The final tercet also contains a couplet, unusual for a
Petrarchan sonnet.
• The octet poses a problem or reflects on reality and
Octet
the sestet comments on the problem or proposes a
solution.
• The rhyme scheme for the octet is ABBAABBA.
• The typical rhyme scheme for a sestet is CDECDE or
CDCDCD. Sonnet 31 is a variation of this—CDCDEE.
Sestet
• Most end rhymes are masculine.
Robert Harter, 2014
With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the skies
!
How silently, and with how wan a face !
What, may it be that even in heavenly place
That busy archer his sharp arrows tries?
Sure, if that long-with-love-acquainted eyes
Can judge of love, thou feel'st a lover's case;
I read it in thy looks; thy languisht grace
To me that feel the like, thy state descries.
Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me,
Is constant love deemed there but want of wit?
Are beauties there as proud as here they be?
Do they above love to be loved, and yet
Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess?
Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
C
D
C
D
E
E
Rhythm and Meter
• Iambic pentameter provides the poem a
steady, rhythmic feeling that can be
manipulated through the use of caesura.
• Elision—omission of a syllable in a word—
allows the poet to maintain the meter.
• Rhyme scheme is nontraditional for an
Italian sonnet. The break occurs with the
volta in which he asks rhetorical
questions that illustrate the problems he
has with his lover.
Robert Harter, 2014
Astrophil, a Petrarchan Lover
• Lover derives from the sonnets of Petrarch.
• The lover yearns for a beautiful woman whom he
idolizes.
• The affection of the lover is unrequited.
• As a result, the lover suffers and freezes:
• Sir Philip Sidney’s love for Penelope;
• Petrarch’s love for a woman named Laura;
• Romeo's initial love for Rosaline in Romeo and
Juliet.
• Astrophil yearns for Stella, and in Sonnet 31 he
notices that same yearning for love in the moon.
Astrophil and Stella
Robert Harter, 2014
• This entire sonnet is an example of pathetic fallacy.
• The moon is personified as having experienced loss in love, just like Astrophil in order to project Astrophil’s (and Sir
Philip’s) own feelings about love onto the moon
• Poetic Conceit is an extended metaphor that uses the moon to represent Astrophil and his feelings. The moon is
made to feel like a Petrarchan Lover, something that is both implausible and completely convincing.
Robert Harter, 2014
Symbolism and Imagery
• The moon is a symbol of subtlety as it gets its light from the
sun.
• Sidney uses this to contemplate the subtleties of love and his
feelings through Astrophil.
• The moon is also a symbol of wonder; this comes into play as
Astrophil wonders about the nature of love.
• The descriptions of the moon (“sad steps, wan face, languished
grace”) all provide imagery of Astrophil’s own demeanor and
feelings and, by extension, those of Sir Philip Sidney.
• The moon is also a symbol of lunacy; Sidney is perhaps
suggesting that love is maddening?
Robert Harter, 2014
Purpose
• Sonnet highlights the frustrations of
unrequited love.
• In the process, the speaker questions
the heavens about the torments of love
to locate another being that has
experienced the same pain.
• Sonnet 31 is part of the larger sonnet
cycle, Astrophil and Stella. Sidney’s
stated purpose was the hope that the
one he loved (Penelope) would return
his affections if she read the entire cycle.
Robert Harter, 2014
Content
• Astrophil feels lovesick as he watches the moon rise.
• He notices the moon looks as lovesick as he.
• Perhaps the moon is a Petrarchan lover?
• He wonders what love is like in the heavens, where the moon
lives.
• The tone is sorrowful and bitter.
• He asks the Moon the following:
• Are devoted lovers also considered idiots?
• Are women as proud as men?
• Do those women desire love, but scoff at those who offer
it?
• Is ungratefulness considered a virtue?
Robert Harter, 2014
The caesura stresses the moon’s role in the
poem as well as its reflected emotion. The two
exclamation marks in the first two lines call for
a complete stop in the poem. This calls
attention to the opening lines and the conceit
used throughout the poem.
Apostrophe: Astrophil
addresses an object which
cannot respond – the
moon. This highlights the
loneliness Astrophil feels.
Moon is personified so that the
speaker can identify with it.
With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the skies !
How silently, and with how wan a face !
“Wan…face, a pun, refers to the waning moon
or the speakers pale, unhappy face. This pun
creates pathetic fallacy as an emotion is
ascribed to a nonhuman entity.
Alliteration of “sad steps” and
“with how wan a face” brings
attention to the emotions
attributed to the moon. The
sibilance also used with the “s”
sounds in these first too lines
stress the sadness of the speaker’s
tone.
Robert Harter, 2014
Caesura makes
“What” an expletive
that reinforces
speaker’s questions.
Elision maintains a
constant meter with
emphasis on the
important syllables.
The Assonance of the short “a”
sound creates a sense of
euphony to reveal the
romantic side of Astrophil
What, may it be that ev’n in heav’nly place
That busy archer his sharp arrows tries?
Diction: The use of the
word “sharp” implies
that Cupid inflicts
pain, not happiness.
Allusion to Cupid is
appropriate
because Cupid’s
arrows are “sharp”
and reflect the
pain he feels.
Robert Harter, 2014
The use of hyphens turns the alliterative “long-with-loveacquainted” into a one-word modifier for “eyes” that accentuates
the speaker’s feelings and the length of time that he has been in
love.
Sure, if that long-with-love-acquainted eyes
Can judge of love, thou feel'st a lover's case;
The affirmative “sure”
shows that Astrophil is
confident that the moon
feels as he does.
Metaphysical Conceit:
The moon can’t feel like
a lover, but this claim is
still convincing.
Robert Harter, 2014
Synecdoche: “Eyes” refer to
Astrophil and reinforces the
idea that he can judge the
moon by looks alone.
The pathetic fallacy
gives the moon
emotions with
which the speaker
can identify.
Diction: “Languished” means to grow weak
from deep sorrow.
The diction is rather morose and sets the sullen
tone of the poem.
I read it in thy looks; thy languisht grace
To me that feel the like, thy state descries.
Inverted syntax places
emphasis on speaker’s
emotions.
Robert Harter, 2014
Diction: “Constant love” sounds
more positive than persistent or
incessant love.
A reference to the first line of
the octet. Apostrophe allows
for the sestet to begin like the
sestet.
Shift
Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me,
Is constant love deemed there but want of wit?
Are beauties there as proud as here they be?
Hyperbole: The rhetorical questions in
the sestet all exaggerate how love is
received.
Robert Harter, 2014
Alliteration: “Want of wit”
calls attention to just how
harshly constant love is
received.
Assonance: “Do they
above love to be loved”,
this creates euphony in
association with the
word love. This is exactly
how a lover would
speak.
Internal Rhyme: The rhyme of
“above” and “love” add to the
sweet connotation of love.
Rhetorical questions provide insight into
the aspects of love that upset the speaker.
Do they above love to be loved, and yet
Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess?
Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?
Syntax: This line is inverted and
really means “Is ungratefulness a
virtue?” This allows for ambiguity
because it may be interpreted as
Astrophil admitting that he calls
Stella’s virtue ungratefulness.
Diction: “Scorn” is a
mixture of hatred and
ridicule.
Robert Harter, 2014
Rhyming Couplet breaks
the traditional
Petrarchan Sonnet form,
but allows for a certain
finality to the poem.
The Shift
• The shift occurs in line 9, the beginning
of the sestet.
• The shift is subtle; Astrophil moves
from noting the moon’s languishing in
the octet to his own feelings of
bitterness.
Octet
• He questions the moon’s experiences
with love as compared to his feelings on
earth.
• The sestet is less about Astrophil’s
connection with the moon and more
about his own sorrow
Sestet
Robert Harter, 2014
1 With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st the skies !
2 How silently, and with how wan a face !
3 What, may it be that even in heavenly place
4 That busy archer his sharp arrows tries?
5 Sure, if that long with love-acquainted eyes
6 Can judge of love, thou feel'st a lover's case;
7 I read it in thy looks; thy languisht grace
8 To me that feel the like, thy state descries.
9 Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me,
10 Is constant love deemed there but want of wit?
11 Are beauties there as proud as here they be?
12 Do they above love to be loved, and yet
13 Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess?
14 Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090419133124AAkjJoV
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100825143412AAJmQpr
http://blogs.hanover.edu/astrophil/tag/synecdoche/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Blount,_Countess_of_Devonshire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarchan_sonnet
http://literary-devices.com/
http://voices.yahoo.com/analysis-sir-philip-sidneys-astrophil-stella-10930334.html
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-analysis-sidneys-sonnet-31-44897
http://www.googleimages.com
http://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/section1/
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/sidbio.htm
Robert Harter, 2014
FIN
Robert Harter, 2014