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Margaret M. Simon
Astrophil and Stella: Sonnet 1 (“Loving in
truth, and fain in verse my love to show”) SIR
PHILIP SIDNEY (ca. 1582) Sonnet 1 of Astrophil and
Stella, which refl ects SIR PHILIP SIDNEY’s authorial con-
cerns about joining the formidable SONNET SEQUENCE
tradition, serves an important in function: Through it,
Sidney makes the genre his own.
The poem begins with a declaration of Astrophil’s
love, held in his heart but (as of yet) unknown to Stella.
The entire sequence is aimed at obtaining “grace” (l. 4)
by offering Stella the pleasure of his pain (l. 2). Astro-
phil seeks “fi t words to paint the blackest face of woe”
(l. 5), thereby placing himself in the traditional
Petrarchan position as supplicant. Desperately, Astro-
phil examines “others’ leaves” (poetry, l. 8) for inspira-
tion. Unfortunately, as the last six lines of the poem
indicate, the words do not come easily, and invention
remains unresponsive. Astrophil bites his “truant” pen
and “beat[s] himself” for not being able to perform bet-
ter (l. 13), and the “blows [of] stepdame Study” (l. 14)
fail, leaving other “feet” [poetry] useless. However, the
“Muse,” a fi gure representing poetic inspiration, inter-
rupts and instructs him to look into his heart and sim-
ply write what he fi nds there. Thus the poem turns
from the need to write to the external authorities offer-
ing proper models, and then to the surer guidance of
the poet’s own heart.
As the fi rst poem in one of the most important
sequences written in England, this SONNET is enor-
mously signifi cant in its own right, not least because it
clearly states Sidney’s own objectives in writing his
sonnets. When he says that he is truly in love and
struggling for words to fi t that love, he means to be
taken seriously. At the same time, these opening lines
also draw explicit attention to Sidney’s relationship
with his sources, including his predecessors PETRARCH,
SIR THOMAS WYATT, and HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SUR-
REY. Moreover, Sidney is referencing contemporary
sonnets, suggesting that his sequence will be the out-
fl ow of his heart rather than an invention contextual-
ized within a well-established genre.
Critical approaches to the poem focus on the sonnet
tradition and its philosophical complexities, particu-
larly in regard to Petrarch. Since Astrophil says that
others’ writing is unfi t for his needs and that the rheto-
ric of the form is stale, critics often examine how (and
if) Sidney is doing anything new, as he claims. The
poem can also be read as the fi rst salvo in a seduction
or as an exploration of the relationship between the
sexes, since the entire series of sonnets is written to
achieve an erotic aim. Recent work in studying the
early modern passions is likely to offer new insights
into the love, pity, and spite that play such a large role
in this dramatic opening statement.
See also ASTROPHIL AND STELLA (OVERVIEW).FURTHER READING
Lanham, Richard A. “Astrophil and Stella: Pure and Impure
Persuasion.” ELR 2, no. 1 (1972): 100–115.
Christopher A. HillASTROPHIL AND STELLA: SONNET 1 37