The Facts on File Companion to British Poetry Before 1600

(l. 12), as if he were unable to determine whether they
overanalyze his actions or merely fail to understand
him. Against the harshness of the “ambition’s rage”
with which his severest critics charge him, Astrophil
offers a wistful note: “... alas, the race / Of all my
thoughts hath neither stop nor start, / But only Stella’s
eyes and Stella’s hart” (ll. 12–14). Here the “race of all
my thoughts” is an admission that Astrophil is indeed
constantly thinking, which resonates with the “dull
pensiveness” of line 1 and the image of “my young
braine captiv’d” in line 11. But Astrophil defl ects all
suspicions with his characteristic fl ourish, declaring
that he thinks only of his beloved’s eyes and heart.
See also ASTROPHIL AND STELLA (OVERVIEW).

FURTHER READING
Jones, Ann Rosalind, and Peter Stallybrass. “The Politics of
Astrophil and Stella.” SEL 24 (1984): 53–68.
Joel B. Davis

Astrophil and Stella: Sonnet 27 (“Because I oft,
in dark abstracted guide”) SIR PHILIP SIDNEY (ca.
1582) In Sonnet 27, Astrophil complains to his
reader that his solitariness and quietness are misinter-
preted and spun into unfl attering rumors by his
courtly rivals, a theme he takes up in Sonnets 23, 28,
54, and 104 as well. Sonnet 27 is in Sidney’s preferred
ITALIAN (PETRARCHAN) SONNET form, with a very clear
turn at line 9 marking the separation of the OCTAVE
from the SESTET.
The octave contrasts Astrophil’s “darke abstracted
guise,” in which he seems “most alone in greatest com-
panie,” against the rivals “that would make speech of
speech arise”—that is, Astrophil’s rivals like to talk
about what other people say rather than anything more
substantial (ll. 1–4). Astrophil’s withdrawal from
courtly gossip has been understood as one important
step toward developing a way of speaking about
inward, private experience, contrasting it against out-
ward, public experience.
The second half of the octave explains the rumors
being spread about Astrophil; “bubbling pride,” which
is compared to “poison,” has lodged in his “swelling
breast” (ll. 6–7). “Bubbling” and “swelling” connote
motion, like the rumor that “fl ies,” again in contrast to

Astrophil’s static pose. Moreover, Astrophil explains

that he is said to “Fawne” on himself in narcissistic self-

love, which was considered a particularly scandalous

and effeminate vice among Elizabethans (l. 8).

At the VOLTA, Astrophil responds to the rumors with

what initially appears to be an admission of his own

self-absorption; when he looks into the mirror he sees

an even “worse fault, ambition” (l. 11). Astrophil con-

fesses that he often passes over his “best friends...

unseene, unheard” (ll. 12–13). Here, Sidney is ambig-

uous as to whether it is Astrophil himself who is unseen

and unheard or whether he fails to see and hear his

friends. The syntax supports either reading, and we

can suppose that Astrophil wants us to take it both

ways. The fact that either Astrophil or his friends, or

both, are unseen and unheard underscores the theme

of inwardness in the poem: Something about interior

lives cannot be captured and made visible to us on the

printed page. Language can only admit existence; it

can never fully explain it. Ultimately, Astrophil links

this hidden experience to his thoughts, which he says

aim toward the “highest place” (again, playing on the

theme of his self-confessed “ambition”)—that is, “Stel-

la’s grace” (ll. 13–14).

While “Stella’s grace” ostensibly means getting on

her good side and winning her love, the word grace

also has strong overtones in Protestant theology. The

Calvinist doctrine of election states that one cannot

enter heaven on the merits of one’s good deeds; only

God’s “grace” can “elect” the saved. Like Calvinists

then, Astrophil undergoes self-examination (ll. 9–10)

to determine whether or not he has earned grace and

become one of the elect. However, Astrophil’s quest is

an erotic one, not spiritual, so it is only Stella who can

provide salvation.

See also ASTROPHIL AND STELLA (OVERVIEW); SIDNEY, SIR

PHILIP; SONNET.

Joel B. Davis

Astrophil and Stella: Sonnet 28 (“You that with

allegory’s curious frame”) SIR PHILIP SIDNEY (ca.

1582) In Sonnet 28, Astrophil addresses those who

discuss his behavior directly. In the OCTAVE, Astrophil

asks those who read and interpret his poetry, either fi g-

uratively or allegorically, to desist. He compares his

ASTROPHIL AND STELLA: SONNET 28 45