Only the fi fth line has any breaks in the IAMBIC PENTAM-
ETER rhythm, as Astrophil intensifi es Grief’s presence by
doubling the direct address: “Do thou then (for thou
canst) do thou complaine.” Triple repetitions of “thou”
forces the reader’s attention to remain focused on Grief,
away from both the speaker and from Stella, who is
never mentioned, even implicitly. Addressing Grief so
relentlessly allows Astrophil to create some distance
between himself and the intensity of his emotion. Even
though he claims to be unable to envision his own pain
(l. 4), the underlying strategy of Sonnet 94 separates
speaker from feeling. We can see just how exaggerated
the grief has become.
In addition to the twisted syntax, Sidney uses AMPLI-
FICATION—meticulous repetitions of certain words both
for emphasis and for contrast. The last three lines rein-
force Astrophil’s sense of being a “wretch” by juxtapos-
ing it with Grief’s “wretchedness” twice.
Contextually, Sonnet 94 follows the wild anguish of
the careless, unintentional injury, insult, or upset dealt
to Stella in Sonnet 93. It can be argued that the intense
despair in Sonnet 94 represents the nadir of Astrophil
and Stella as a whole. If so, the speaker’s dawning
awareness of the disproportion of his grief marks the
beginning of the upswing that fi nds its fulfi llment in
Sonnets 107 and 108. Hyperbole and apostrophe
together create a sonnet whose very extremeness pro-
vides the rationale for a return to a more reasonable
poetic presence.
See also ASTROPHIL AND STELLA (OVERVIEW).
Marjory E. Lange
Astrophil and Stella: Sonnet 104 (“Enuious
wits, what hath bene mine offence”) SIR PHILIP
SIDNEY (ca. 1582) Relying on a conversational tone,
Sonnet 104 addresses the observers following Astro-
phil’s sorrow. The fi rst part of the OCTAVE of this ITAL-
IAN (PETRARCHAN) SONNET paints a vivid picture of
Astrophil being covertly watched by “enuious wits” (l.
- who note everything that might indicate what he is
feeling. Wondering what he has done to deserve such
treatment, he alleges they act as if they envy his “sor-
rowe’s eloquence” (l. 4), an ambivalent phrase that
simultaneously stresses the speaker’s self-deprecating
sorrowful mood and his self-praising ability to write
about it. In the second half of the octave, Astrophil
asks his enemies if it is not enough that he is so sepa-
rated from Stella that “scarce any sparke / Of comfort”
(ll. 6–7) can reach him where he is, “thence, thence,
thrice-repeated thence” (ll. 5–6) from her. The ENJAMB-
MENT of the fi rst two “thence”s makes the distance
described all the greater, and strengthens the uncer-
tainty of where Astrophil actually is. Although he
speaks of a “dungeon darke” (l. 7) and “rigrows exile”
(l. 8), clearly the poem is set at the court, so his dis-
tance from his beloved is not geographic so much as
symbolic, and the envious wits are contributors to this
separation.
The SESTET exemplifi es Astrophil’s COMPLAINT. Using
the parenthetical phrase in line 11, SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
slyly has Astrophil interpret his own actions in the
same multivalent way as his detractors have been
doing: He is “glad” (l. 11) that he can look through a
window that is “happy” (l. 9) because Stella looked out
of it at some point. But it does not matter what he does,
because the envious wits take note of every word—
every gesture—and pull from it “hid meaning” (l. 13)
that he loves Stella. Fools, he says in the last line—who
denies it? The irony in the last lines is that there is no
hidden meaning; the “morall notes” (l. 12)—that is,
allegorical interpretations—are really the literal mean-
ing, and the unsympathetic observers in the court have
inadvertently provided Astrophil with assistance.
See also ASTROPHIL AND STELLA (OVERVIEW).
Leslie J. OrmandyAstrophil and Stella: Eleventh Song (“ ‘Who is it
that this dark night’ ”) SIR PHILIP SIDNEY (ca.
1582) The eleventh Song is the last of the songs
inserted among the SONNETs in Astrophil and Stella,
appearing between Sonnets 104 and 105. It takes the
form of a dialogue; each of the 11 fi ve-line stanzas is
divided so that Stella speaks the fi rst two lines and
Astrophil the remaining three. Written in trochaic
tetrameters, each STANZA’s fi rst, third, and fi fth lines
have feminine endings, while the second and fourth
lines end in the masculine form. The rhyme scheme is
ababa. Song 11 asserts Astrophil’s continuing faithful
love for Stella against every doubt presented.ASTROPHIL AND STELLA: ELEVENTH SONG 65