Astrophil and Stella: Sonnet 2 (“Not at fi rst
sight, nor with a dribbèd shot”) SIR PHILIP SID-
NEY (ca. 1582) The second poem of the SONNET
SEQUENCE Astrophil and Stella begins with the speaker,
Astrophil, describing how he has fallen in love with the
addressee, Stella. This description of the inamorata is
anti-Petrarchan. PETRARCH falls in love when he fi rst
sees Laura, whereas Astrophil specifi es that he falls in
love with Stella “Not at the fi rst sight” (l. 1). Immedi-
ately, the speaker grapples with how complex and con-
tradictory love can be. Astrophil realizes that he loses
his freedom when he is in love. As time passes, how-
ever, lovers like Astrophil forget what it was like not to
be in love and embrace love’s “Tyrannie” (l. 11).
Finally, the SONNET asserts that poetry itself can make
the suffering of love beautiful.
The sonnet begins as a standard ITALIAN (PETRARCHAN)
SONNET, with an initial OCTAVE rhyming abba, abba.
Astrophil describes the process of falling in love with
Stella. Though he does not fall immediately in love, the
“wound” (l. 2) he receives from Cupid’s arrow is long-
lasting. Cupid’s shot is not “dribbed” (l. 1) or wide of
the mark. Rather, it hits him squarely, meaning that
once he falls in love with Stella, his love for her is abso-
lute. As long as he remains alive to draw breath, he
says, he will be in love with Stella.
Although his love for Stella begins with the typical
Petrarchan image of the lover being struck by Cupid’s
arrow, Astrophil does not fall immediately in love.
Rather, he says that though he knows Stella’s worth, his
love for her “did in mine of time proceed” (1. 3). This
ambiguous phrase has been variously interpreted. On
the one hand, Astrophil might be referring to the
extremely long time it takes him to realize he is in love
with Stella. In the 16th century, a “mine” could also
mean a strategic tunnel dug under an enemy’s position
to gain entrance or to make buildings collapse. By this
defi nition, Stella is so worthy that she slowly under-
mines Astrophil’s defenses until he falls in love with
her. This martial metaphor is elaborated by the word
conquest in the line “Till by degrees it [Stella’s worthi-
ness] had full conquest got [of Astrophil’s heart]” (l. 4).
After this brief summary, Astrophil describes falling
in love with Stella in more detail. At fi rst he likes her
but does not love her. Then he comes to love her but is
unwilling to admit it. Finally, the power of his love
forces Astrophil to acknowledge his feelings for Stella.
Feeling trapped by love and deprived of his freedom,
Astrophil is still not content as a lover. As time passes,
however, he no longer remembers what it was like to
be free from Stella’s love, fi nding that “even that foot-
step of lost libertie / Is gone” (ll. 9–10). He compares
his state to that of a “slave-borne Muscovite” (l. 10), a
serf who does not know freedom and so is content to
live under tyranny.
Sidney uses the formal aspects of the Italian sonnet
to mark thematic developments in Sonnet 2. Employ-
ing the typical turn from the octave to the SESTET, Sid-
ney charts Astrophil’s progress as a lover. At the turn,
Astrophil stops struggling against falling in love and
accepts it begrudgingly. The sestet rhymes cdc, eff,
deviating slightly, though unremarkably, from the
usual pattern.
The poem’s fi nal COUPLET is typical of Sidney’s pithy
rejoinders. Astrophil says that after Stella has enslaved
his emotions, he will use what mental power he has
left to convince himself that he is happy as a lover by
writing poetry about his love. These fi nal lines also
complicate the issue of naturalism or originality in the
sonnets. Suggesting that most of his wit has been
destroyed by love, Astrophil says he will use what
remains of his wit to convince himself “that all is well /
While with a feeling skill [he paints his] hell” (ll. 13–
14). Sidney implies that he may be manipulating not
only his readers’ emotions but his own as well.
Most scholars focus on the beginning lines of this
sonnet, noting its strong refusal of the Petrarchan com-
monplace of “love at fi rst sight.” In the fi rst sonnet of
the sequence, Astrophil claims he will not rely on other
authors for poetic guidance but will look into his own
heart for inspiration instead. The fi rst lines of Sonnet 2
seem to further emphasize Sidney’s quest for original-
ity. Scholars point to a balance between the fi rst two
sonnets. Sonnet 1 describes how Stella might come to
love Astrophil, while Sonnet 2 describes how Astrophil
comes to love her.
Scholars have also commented on the parallel
between Sonnet 2 and Sidney’s own relationship with
Penelope Devereux, the generally accepted model for
Stella. Philip Sidney and Penelope Devereux probably38 ASTROPHIL AND STELLA: SONNET 2