Selected Sonnets from Astrophil and Stella By Sir Philip Sidney

Transcription

1 Selected Sonnets from Astrophil and Stella By Sir Philip Sidney Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet cycle written by poet and courtier Sir Philip Sidney in the 180s. Sidney was one of the most prominent figures in Elizabethan England, and he was widely perceived as the model of what gentleman should be. His 179 Defense of Poesy defended poetry against religious attacks that poetry only represents pleasant-sounding lies, and his love sonnets inspired several English imitators in the 180s and 190s. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with a regular rhyme scheme and meter. In these poems, Sidney is most influenced by the Italian sonnets of Petrarch-- a medieval poet who wrote about love as a kind of exquisite suffering. The name Astrophil derives from the Greek aster (star) and phil (lover), and the name Stella is Latin for star. The poems, then, are written from the point of view of star-lover for his star. Sir Philip Sidney For each of the four poems, I have included a short description about one aspect of love that the sonnet describes, as well as a more modern English paraphrase in a footnote. Love and reason are opposed. Reason is conquered by love. Sonnet Reason, in faith thou art well serv d, that still Wouldst brabbling be with sense and love in me: I rather wish d thee climb the Muses hill, Or reach the fruit of Nature s choicest tree, Or seek heav n s course, or heav n s inside to see: Why shouldst thou toil our thorny soil to till? Leave sense, and those which sense s objects be: Deal thou with powers of thoughts, leave love to will. But thou wouldst needs fight both with love and sense, With sword of wit, giving wounds of dispraise, Till downright blows did foil thy cunning fence : For soon as they strake thee with Stella s rays, well serv d i.e., deserving in your defeat brabbling arguing sense sensation Muses goddesses over particular arts Nature s... tree the tree of knowledge fence swordsmanship (as in fencing) strake struck 1

2 Reason thou kneel dst, and offeredst straight to prove By reason good, good reason her to love. 1 There is a dangerous edge to love. Sonnet 16 In nature apt to like when I did see Beauties, which were of many carats fine, My boiling sprites did thither soon incline, And, Love, I thought that I was full of thee: But finding not those restless flames in me, Which others said did make their souls to pine, I thought those babes of some pin s hurt did whine, By my love judging what love s pain might be. But while I thus with this young lion played, Mine eyes (shall I say curst or blest?) beheld Stella; now she is nam d, need more be said? In her sight I a lesson new have spell d, I now have learn d Love right, and learn d even so, As who by being poisoned doth poison know. 2 carats unit to measure the quality of gold sprites elves, fairies, or goblins The story of the lion cub that destroyed the flocks of its protector (line 9) was used by the Greek playwright Aeschylus regarding Helen of Troy-- a beautiful woman whose abduction was the mythological cause of the Trojan War. Love is oblivious to consequences. It makes a virtue of unreasonable emotion. Sonnet 19 On Cupid s bow how are my heartstrings bent, That see my wrack, and yet embrace the same? When most I glory, then I feel most shame: wrack ruin 1 Translation into more modern English for Sonnet : Reason you are truly making a mistake if you still / Wish to quibble within me about love and sensation. / I would rather desire you to climb Parnassus, the Muse s hill, / Or reach for the fruit of the most excellent tree in Nature, / Or search out the intent of Heaven, or try to see its inner form. / Why should you labor to cultivate my thorny soil? / Leave sensation, and the objects of the senses: / Deal with the power of thought, leave love to the power of the will. / But you seemed to wish to fight against love and sensation, / Giving wounds of disparagement with the sword of wit, / Until real blows foiled your cunning defenses: / Since as soon as you were struck by the rays from Stella s eyes, / You knelt down, Reason, and straight away offered to prove / That loving her was reasonable by using good rational argument. 2 Translation into more modern English for Sonnet 16 : Tending, by nature, to like those beauties, whom I saw, / Who were of many carats in value, / My fiery spirits soon inclined towards them, / And, Love, I thought that I was full of you: / But finding that there was not the restless flame in me / That others said made their souls pine, / I thought they were babies whining at the scratch of a pin, / Judging by my own pain what Love s pain might be. / But while I was playing like this with the lion cub, / My eyes (shall I say cursed or blessed?) beheld / Stella: now she is named, need any more be said? / In her sight I have spelled out a new lesson: / I now have learned love correctly, and learned like / One who knows poison by being poisoned. 2

3 I willing run, yet while I run, repent. My best wits still their own disgrace invent: My very ink turns straight to Stella s name; And yet my words, as them my pen doth frame, Avise themselves that they are vainly spent. For though she pass all things, yet what is all That unto me, who fare like him that both Looks to the skies and in a ditch doth fall? Oh let me prop my mind, yet in his growth, And not in Nature, for best fruits unfit: Scholar, saith Love, bend hitherward your wit. 3 Avise advise The story of the philosopher falling into a ditch while gazing at the stars (lines -11) is commonly told of the ancient Greek philosopher Thales. Falling in love is like being wounded. Sonnet 20 Fly, fly, my friends, I have my death wound; fly! See there that boy, that murd ring boy I say, Who like a thief, hid in dark bush doth lie, Till bloody bullet get him wrongful prey. So tyrant he no fitter place could spy, Nor so fair level in so secret stay, As that sweet black which veils the heav nly eye: There himself with his shot he close doth lay. Poor passenger, pass now thereby I did, And stayed pleas d with the prospect of the place, While that black hue from me the bad guest hid: But straight I saw motions of lightning grace, And then descried the glist ring of his dart: But ere I could fly hence, it pierc d my heart. 4 that boy i.e., Cupid bullet projectile (in this case, an arrow) level line of fire passenger passer-by descried caught sight of 3 Translation into more modern English for Sonnet 19 : How my heartstrings are strung on Cupid s bow, / I, who see my ruin, and yet embrace it! / When I most glory, then I feel most shame: / I run to her willingly, yet, while I run, repent: / My best thoughts still invent their own disgrace: / My very ink turns straight towards Stella s name, / And yet my words, as my pen frames them, / Are aware that they are spent in vain: / For though she surpasses all things, yet what is all / That to me, who fare like him (Thales, the philosopher) / Who both looks at the sky, and falls into the ditch? / O let me support my mind, yet in its growth, / And not by nature unfit to produce the best fruits: / Scholar, says Love, turn your wit towards me. 4 Translation into more modern English for Sonnet 20 : Fly, fly, my friends, I have my death-wound, fly; / See that boy there, that murdering boy, I say, / Who like a thief lies hidden in a dark bush, / Till a bloody bullet wins him a wrongful victim: / He is so tyrannical he could see no better place, / Nor aim so successfully, in a concealment as secret / As that sweet black which veils the heavenly eye: / There he lies closely hidden with his shot. / I, a poor passer-by, did pass by there just now, / And stayed, pleased with the look of the place, / While that black colour hid the bad guest from me; / But I straightaway saw motions of lightning grace, / And then made out the gleaming of his arrow: / But before I could flee from there, it pierced my heart. 3

4 Selection from Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 130 By William Shakespeare In Romeo and Juliet, most probably written at about the same time as A Midsummer Night s Dream (ca. 19), Shakespeare updates the Pyramus and Thisbe story to Renaissance Italy. Unlike in A Midsummer Night s Dream (which also uses the Pyramus and Thisbe story), though, Shakespeare adapts the story straight-- adopting a tragic view of suffering love similar to the Petrarchan sonnets of Sir Philip Sidney. For example, here is Romeo s (the Pyramus character) reaction upon first seeing Juliet (the Thisbe character) from Act 1, Scene : 4 0 O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne er saw true beauty till this night. Ethiope s Ethiopian s (i.e., African s) measure dance rude crude forswear disavow To reiterate, Romeo has literally never seen Juliet before when he speaks these words, and when he does see her for the first time, it is from across the room at a masked ball. However, after so many imitators of Sidney s Petrarchan love sonnets, by the 190s and 1600s many came to see some of the conventions about love from the poems as a little silly. Shakespeare s Sonnet 130 is one of the more famous of his sonnets that poke gentle fun at the overblown nature of these types of passionate love poems. Like Astrophil and Stella, Shakespeare s love sonnets adopt the persona of someone suffering for love, and like Sidney s poems, they may be describing a literal love affair or a fictionalized account of feelings that never rose to the level of a literal affair; they may also be a poetic creation with little basis in literal reality. In any case, the poem is not addressed to the speaker s wife, but his mistress. Sonnet 130 My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun ; dun grayish brown Translation into more modern English: Oh, she shows the torches how to burn bright! She stands out against the darkness like a jeweled earring hanging against the cheek of an African. Her beauty is too good for this world; she s too beautiful to die and be buried. She outshines the other women like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows. When this dance is over, I ll see where she stands, and then I ll touch her hand with my rough and ugly one. Did my heart ever love anyone before this moment? My eyes were liars, then, because I never saw true beauty before tonight. 4

5 If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare. 6 damasked patterned reeks gives off (not necessarily negative) belied misrepresented illustration to Romeo and Juliet in which Romeo sees Juliet for the first time from across the room, H. C. Selous, London, Translation into more modern English: My mistress s eyes are nothing like the sun. Coral is much redder than the red of her lips. Compared to the whiteness of snow, her breasts are grayish-brown. Poets describe their mistresses' hair as gold wires, but my mistress has black wires growing on her head. I have seen roses that were a mixture of red and white, but I don t see those colors in her cheeks. And some perfumes smell more delightful than my mistress s reeking breath. I love to hear her speak; yet I know perfectly well that music has a far more pleasant sound. I admit I never saw a goddess walk; when my mistress walks, she treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my beloved is as special as any woman whom poets have lied about with false comparisons.