“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Introduction

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“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Summary

“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Themes

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  Creativity and Imagination

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  The Power of Poetry

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”

• Lines 1-4

  Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,
  That she, dear she, might take some pleasure of my pain,—
  Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,
  Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe;
  Studying inventions fine her wits to entertain,
  Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow
  Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn'd brain.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-11

  But words came halting forth, wanting invention's stay;
  Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows;
  And others' feet still seem'd but strangers in my way.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 12-14

  Thus great with child to speak and helpless in my throes,
  Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,
  "Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write."

  

  

  

  

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“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Fain
• Cause her read
• Obtain
• Fit
• Inventions fine
• Invention
• Oft
• Turning others' leaves
• Thence
• Halting
• Step-dame
• Great with child
• Throes
• Truant
• Thy

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”

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• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Speaker

“Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”

More “Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 1: Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

  • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Sidney's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.

  • The Poem and its World — Read an article describing how Astrophil and Stella fit into Sidney's Renaissance world—and discussing Sidney's continuing poetic influence.

  • A First Edition — See images of the 1591 edition of Astrophil and Stella—the first printing in which the whole sequence was collected.

  • Portraits of Sidney — See some portraits of Sidney (in which he looks every inch the dashing Renaissance lover).