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Sonnet I Astrophil and Stella

This sonnet introduces the sonnet sequence and expresses the writer's desire to show his love for Stella through his poetry. He hopes that by reading his work, Stella will understand his pain and have pity on him. However, the writer struggles to find the right words to express his emotions. He considers imitating other poets but realizes their styles do not suit his purpose. In the final lines, his muse tells him to look within his heart and write from there.

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Mary Lu
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51 views2 pages

Sonnet I Astrophil and Stella

This sonnet introduces the sonnet sequence and expresses the writer's desire to show his love for Stella through his poetry. He hopes that by reading his work, Stella will understand his pain and have pity on him. However, the writer struggles to find the right words to express his emotions. He considers imitating other poets but realizes their styles do not suit his purpose. In the final lines, his muse tells him to look within his heart and write from there.

Uploaded by

Mary Lu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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14/03/2023

SONNET I ASTROPHIL AND STELLA

Traduzione

Amando sinceramente e desideroso di mostrare il mio amore in verso,

in modo che Lei, cara Lei, possa trarre piacere dal mio dolore.

Il piacere del mio dolore potrebbe spingerla a leggere,

leggere potrebbe dare conoscenza,

la conoscenza potrebbe conquistare la pietà e la pietà potrebbe ottenere la grazia.

Ho cercato le parole adatte per dipingere il volto più nero dell’afflizione;

studiando belle invenzioni , per stimolare il suo ingegno

spessi girando pagine di altri, per vedere se allora

sarebbero finite,

piogge abbondanti e feconde nel mio cervello riarso dal sole.

Ma le parole uscirono dal grembo, esitanti del sostegno dell’invenzione.

Invenzione, figlia della Natura m evitò i colpi della matrigna studio.

E i piedi degli altri mi sembravano estranei nel mio cammino.

Così gravido di parole da pronunciare , e indifeso nelle mie doglie.

Tormentando la mia penna pigra, colpendomi per spregio;

“SCIOCCO “, mi disse la mia Musa, “ guarda nel tuo cuore e scrivi “.

This sonnet has the longest verses of all they are called alexandrines, which are six-feet long, like trech lines
(only six sonnets in the entire collection ; they are particular and deal with important themes , like
metapoetry or myths.

‘Sonnet 1’ resembles a Petrarchan sonnet. It has 14 lines, and it is written in iambic Hexameter. ‘Sonnet 1
can be divided in an octet and a sestet, and it has an ABAB ABAB CDCDEE rhyme scheme. Moreover, the
poem has love and creation as its main themes.

Analysis

Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,

That she, dear she, might take some pleasure of my pain,


Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,

Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,

I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe,

Studying inventions fine, her wits to entertain,

Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence would flow.

Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburned brain.

The SONNET 1 introduces the sonnet sequence. The lyrical voice expresses his wish to transmit his love in
his writing: “Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”. The lyrical voice’s reflection about writing
enables him to make a love sonnet. Nevertheless, the lyrical voice’s writing shows that he knows that he
will never win Stella’s love (“That she, dear she, might take some pleasure of my pain, /Pleasure might
cause her read, reading might make her know”), but he can’t help but desire her and express his love to her
(“Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain”). The lyrical voice believes that Stella will read his
writings and become deeply acquainted with his love, and if she pities him, he will win the “grace” of her
attention.

The lyrical voice is concerned with how he expresses his emotions. Notice the metatextuality that the lyrical
voice introduces by talking about his own writing. He thinks that he has made a mistake by looking at
other’s writings (“Studying inventions fine”) and trying to emulate them to express “the blackest face of
woe”. He thought that this could serve as inspiration: “Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence
flow/Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburned brain would”. There is natural imagery in the
final lines of the octet to accentuate this particular emotional writing.

But words came halting forth, wanting Invention’s stay:

Invention, Nature’s child, fled stepdame Study’s blows,

And others’ feet still seemed but strangers in my way.

Thus, great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,

Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite:

“Fool,” said my Muse to me, “look in thy heart and write.”

The sestet of ‘Sonnet 1’ introduces the volta, turn in Italian. The lyrical voice focuses on the composition of
poetry and personifies the moment of writing (“wanting Invention’s stay:/Invention, Nature’s child, fled
step-dame Study’s blows”). He still reflects on studying other poets and their writing: “And others’ feet still
seemed but strangers in my way/Thus great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes”. Notice how the
metatextuality is accentuated and deepened in this stanza. Then, the lyrical voice turns into his own and
moment of writing: “Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite/ ‘Fool,’ said my Muse to me, ‘look in thy
heart and write’”. These final lines are crucial, as they suggest two main things. First, there is a divine
influence that the lyrical voice finds while writing.

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