Monday, September 26, 2011
Question for September 28: Sidney (2:00 class)
Sir Phillip Sidney has been called "the logician in love"--meaning that his sonnets about Stella show his interest in logical thinking rather than great passion. Based on your reading of sonnets 1, 20, 47 and 91 (pages 975-76, 979, 983, and 989-90), what do you think? Are you convinced that Sidney is in love, or is he merely trying to impress his readers? Use examples from the sonnets to back up your answer.
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I believe that Sir Phillip Sidney's sonnets do show a sense of logic in love. He is quite used to the feelings of love and he expresses his emotions in a very descriptive, witty way but even still there is much passion behind his words. For example in sonnet 47 he seems as though he is fighting with himself to get the courage to let "Stella" go. Line 9-14 "Beauty but beauty is; I may, I must, I can, I will, I do leave following that which is gain to miss. Let her go. Soft, but her she comes. Go to, Unkind, I love you not. O me, that eye doth make my heart give to my tongue the lie." This convinces me that Sidney is truly in love. He says he doesn't love her but he ends his sonnet in confessing the contradicting factor in that statement. Although he feels love in his heart, his tongue/mouth professes a different emotion. I also believe Sidney is trying to impress his readers. But not in an egotistical manner, I believe that he speaks from the heart and it so happens that his words come out in a logical manner. It shows that he has experience in love and heart break. In sonnet 20 he speaks of being shot in the heart. I believe this goes along with the story that is believed that his love Stella married another man. “See there that boy, that murth’ring (murdering) boy, I say, who like a thief hid in dark bush doth lie..” (line 1-3) “While black hue from me the bad quest hid; …and then descried the glist’ring (glittering) of his dart; but ere I could fly thence, it pierc’d my heart.” I believe this tells a tale of his love being stolen by a theif, and his heart was pierced without a chance for him to escape.
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I agree with Esperanza in that there is a sense of logic behind Sidney’s love and that there is also an overbearing sense of passion that seems to take hold of him as the agony of separation causes him to feel the presence of Stella in his surroundings. Looking at the first sonnet it is clear that Sidney intends to win affection through his writing. He thinks that she might fall for him after seeing how much pain he is in without her. In lines 2-4 he states, “That the 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 might grace obtain.” This is his logical attempt to win her heart, however he finds himself unable to bring the pen to paper. He then realizes love comes from the heart and so must his words. There is no doubt that Sidney is in love and is not simply trying to impress his readers. In sonnet 20 however I disagree with Esperanza in that Sydney’s love is stolen. I believe that this is supposed to be an ambush by Cupid. What initially gives this away is when Sydney refers to his attacker as the “murth’ing boy”. Also in lines 12-14, “But straight I saw motions of lightning grace, and then descried the glist’ring of his dart; but ere I could fly thence, it pierc’d my heart”. Sydney is describing how it felt to fall in love with Stella. The “lightning grace” is most likely Stella, for the Latin definition of the word Stella is star. Sydney also alludes to this in sonnet 91 when he refers to Stella as the light of his life and his sun in lines 2 and 3. As for the dart, Sydney is speaking of Cupid’s arrow that pierces his heart before he has time to react. This is simply a complex description of love at first sight. It is clear that Sydney attempts to sound logical, but the point he is trying to make is that love cannot be logical and that emotions are uncontrollable.
ReplyDeleteI, Peacock1, agree with both Esperanza and Dr. Mantis Tabogan that Sidney is without a doubt in love. Anyone reading these sonnets should see quickly that he is in love. Especially the sonnets 47 and 91. I liked the way Dr. Mantis explained sonnet 20 being a description of Cupid. Although Sidney is clearly in love with Stella, he makes love sound like a trap. He portrays it to not be his choice to love Stella. In sonnet 47 he states, "What, have I thus betrayed my liberty?" He is in disbelief that he gave away his freedom for love. I do not agree that he is using logic. These writings are pure passion. I don't agree with Dr. Mantis in the sense that he isn't trying to impress his readers and Stella. While it is an act of love and passion, he is also hoping that Stella will read his writings and be impressed of his love. In sonnet 47, it seems like he is trying to convince himself and Stella that he doesn't love her, but then isn't able to leave her,"Let her go. Soft, but here she comes. Go to, Unkind, I love you not. O me, that eye doth make my heart give to my tongue the lie." I am completely convinced that Sidney is in love with Stella. He makes it clear in sonnet 91 by addressing her as the "light of his life, his sun." I also think that he is trying to impress his readers, but I don't see that takes away from his love or passion for Stella.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the two previous commenters. Sidney seems completely in love, but is weary and aware of his foolishness in it. I love that these poems begin with his frustration in love, and the end of the couplet is someone telling him to write about his feelings instead of keeping them inside: “’Fool,’ said my Muse to me, ‘look in thy heart and write.’” I believe that this shows his true interest in the woman from the start—Sidney would most likely not tell others about a woman if he was not romantically distraught. Sonnet 20 shows how he is in a low-point in love. He describes a little boy, as Dr. Mantis intelligently points out, that could be Cupid. This did not occur to me until I read the previous comment, but I completely agree. Since Sidney refers to Cupid’s arrow as a “death-wound” it reveals that he is not welcoming the love, possibly because he has been hurt by previous loves. Sonnet 47 confirms the truth behind Sidney’s love in my opinion. It is very passionate, and reveals a true admiration for this woman: “Soft, but here she comes. Go to, Unkind, I love you not. O me, that eye Doth make my heart give to my tongue the lie.” These beautiful lines depict a struggle—Sidney knows it may not be a good thing, but he cannot help but be in love. The last poem refutes the idea of him being in love with multiple women. Sidney admits that he is attracted to other beautiful women: “Some beauty’s piece, as amber-colored head…They please I do confess, they please mine eyes.” However, he clarifies that he loves their beauty only because it reminds him of his love: “If you hear that they seem my heart to move: Not them, O no, but you in them I love.” Without a doubt, Sidney is being honest.
ReplyDeleteI do believe Sidney is truly in love and he shows it through his poems. Like 901 said, Sidney is writing to let out his frustrations in love. Although, perhaps Sidney does not know any other way of expressing himself about his true feelings. Perhaps Sidney make come off as not real to readers because he does not know how to show his feelings through any other medium. This can be seen in Sonnet 1, “...in verse my love to show, That the dear She might take some pleasure of my pain, pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know.” This quote shows that he wants her to read his writings so that she can know his true feelings about her. It is interesting to notice how Sidney capitalizes the word “she” like that word is the girl’s name. This shows that he thought of his love as someone of importance which shows that he was truly in love. Sidney shows his low points in love too. After reading 901’s and Dr. Mantis’ comment, I agree about the little boy in Sonnet 20 being cupid. Although as I was reading I did not even think of this. Sidney’s showing of calling Cupid “tyrant” and “thief” shows his displeasing feelings about Cupid. I agree with 901 in how his displeasing feelings show that Sidney must have been hurt by Cupid before so that is why he is weary. Though Sidney has his doubts about love and getting hurt, at the end he truly is in love. This can be seen in Sonnet 91, where Sidney describes Stella in such detail with her “Milk hands, rose cheeks...” With his paying such close attention to her features, this shows that Sidney truly cares about Stella.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with all of the previous commenters. Through Sidney’s sonnets he shows a true sense of logic in love towards Stella. The way that he describes his emotions towards her seem extremely true and powerful, but then he also portrays this sense of logic of love as a trap, and that falling in love can be foolish. Throughout the sonnets it seems as if he is trying to persuade himself that he does not love her, his heart wants her, but his mind does not. That shows that he is taking his feelings about Stella in more of a logical way. In Sonnet 47, lines 10-12 it shows that he is trying to let go of his love for her, “I may, I must, I can, I will, I do leave following that which it is gain to miss. Let her go.” Sidney is showing a true struggle that he is trying to let his mind think that he does not love her. As the sonnets continue to go on, he begins to admit his love for her. In the same sonnet in line 15 he states, “Doth make my heart give to my tongue the life.” Here he talks about contracting “his tongue” so he admits that even though he is trying to let her go he cannot do so.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I would love to be the first to go against what everyone else has previously stated, I must admit that I agree with them all. Sir Philip Sidney is in love and it is as plain as day. However, he does play a logical game with the reader, and maybe himself. In sonnet 1, Sidney writes, "Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show, That the 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..." and from this quote, I agree with what SomeoneLikeYou has said, I deduct that Sidney is writing out of love that is not returned, and that by the slightest chance his loved one reads his words, she might take pity on him and grace him with companionship. In sonnet 20, I agree with what Ezperanza said, that Sidney is describing a boy who has stolen Stella away from him, and he is heartbroken over it, "And then descried the glist'ring of his dart; But ere I could fly thence, it pierc'd my heart." In sonnet 47, Sidney says, "What, have I thus betrayed my liberty?", which is the middle english way of saying, "Am I crazy to give up the single life?" In most of the poems and stories we have read so far, no one seems too thrilled with the idea of marriage and how it is just a sentence to slavery. Sidney is asking himself if he is really giving up his freedom for a woman. Towards the end of the poem, he says that he is letting her go, but the very last line is him saying that his heart contradicts his tongue, and that he doesn't truly want to let her go. Last but not least, in sonnet 91, Sidney is telling Stella that she will always have his love and should never be jealous over him if she hears he has moved on, because his heart still belongs to her.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I agree with everyone else when they all say Sir Philip Sidney is indeed “the logician of love”. Not only that, but I also agree that Sidney shows his interest in Stella with over induced passion of love rather than trying to impress his readers. For example, he states in Sonnet 20 how he fell in love with Stella at first glance, “As that sweet black which veils the heav’nly eye”. Only that Sidney is hiding in her lovely, black eyes, and because of that Cupid’s arrows/darts are attacking him. I agree with Dr. Mantis and 901 when they state that Cupid is being symbolized as “that murth’ring boy” which means murdering boy. I would like to add on to the concept that Sidney is being attacked by Cupids darts, which are piercing him through the heart, and mention that Sidney exaggerates love as an ambush. Cupid is being the hunter, and Sidney is being the one hunted who is unable to escape the darts and is shot. After explaining this ambush, his love still manages to exist; this is an example of how Sidney is truly in love with Stella. Next, in Sonnet 47 Sidney shows the readers how frustrated and angry he is at himself for loving Stella so much, and not getting anything in return from her. Because of that, he feels as if he is slaving himself over her “Can those black beams such burning marks engrave in my free side? Or am I born a slave?” Because she is not compassionate about him, he decides to move on from her, and “let her go.” Because he is so passionate about Stella, and views her as the love of his life, he shows his struggle in trying to let her go, and free himself from being a slave to her in lines 10-11, “I may, I must, I can, I will, I do leave following that which it is gain to miss.” This just shows that Sidney has a lot of love toward Stella that he has to convince himself by repeating how he NEEDS to let her go so he can be free. However, because love speaks louder than words, she manages to come back into his life again and changes his mind about letting her go. This love towards Stella seems very real and true that I believe he is head over heels for her rather than trying to impress his readers.
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