In "Sonnet 52" Sidney describes a conflict between Virtue and Love that is quite similar to the conflict between Reason and Emotion (Love and Sense) that occurs in "Sonnet 10." In "Sonnet 71" Sidney returns to the conflict between Virtue and Love. But this sonnet is, perhaps, more positive than "52." In "Sonnet 71" Astrophil recognizes and appreciates the importance of Stella's virtue.
In the first quatrain of the sonnet, Astrophil suggests that virtue (internal beauty) can found within something, or someone, who is physically beautiful (external beauty). In other words, internal beauty and external beauty can exist within the same person. The first three lines of the quatrain could be rewritten as follows:
Whoever wishes to study nature to see how virtue can be found in an object of physical beauty, that person only has to experience the "love" of Stella. The word love here suggests both earthly love
(or physical love) and love of virtue (or spiritual love). The last line of the quatrain (line 4) explains this idea more directly. The expression "fair lines" suggests Stella's beautiful shape (her external beauty), and "true goodness" suggests her virtue (her internal beauty).
In the second quatrain, Sidney draws a comparison between virtue and reason. As mentioned previously, many Christians during the Renaissance believed that Reason is a gift from God that allows people to control their emotions and stay away from sin. Astrophil explains that this is exactly what one can find in Stella. Her Reason (personified) is a gentle ("sweetest") sovereign or king that rules and controls all of her passions (or "vices"). Sidney describes Reason as an internal "light" or "inward sun" that causes the owls, the birds of night (which symbolize various kinds of vices), to fly away. In other words, people who know Stella will find only virtue in her. She has no terrible vices, no negative passions, and no sins.
In the third quatrain, Astrophil explains the effect that Stella's virtue has on other people. He metaphorically describes Stella as the heir or child of Perfection. The word perfection suggests both her internal goodness and her external beauty. But Stella is not happy ("not content") in just being virtuous herself. She wants others to be virtuous as well. Astrophil explains that some people will discover in Stella what is most beautiful ("most fair"), which is her Virtue. These people will then also try or "strive" to be "that way" themselves. They will then try to be virtuous. Astrophil adds (in line 12) that Stella's physical beauty may be what initially causes people to love Stella, but her virtue will change that love (meaning physical or earthly love) to goodness, to spiritual beauty (line 13).
In the very last line, Astrophil contradicts everything he has said in the first thirteen lines of the sonnet. "Desire" still craves food. Astrophil still cannot help wanting Stella physically. He desires physical affection and physical love from her. The word desire suggests the passions or emotions. No matter how much virtue Astrophil finds in Stella, and no matter how much of that virtue comes to him, Astrophil's night-birds will not fly away. His lust remains.
A NOTE ON THE SONGS
As mentioned previously, Sidney includes some lighter verse, some songs, with his sonnets. The student should try reading these songs out loud in order to feel the rhythmical quality. Moreover, the student should recognize that these poems are simpler. They are much easier to understand. They also have the added feature of including Stella's voice. The dialogue between Astrophil and Stella gives these poems a dramatic touch.
In the "Fourth Song" Astrophil comes to
Stella's house at night and pleads with her to come away with him. Stella has only one line, and she repeats it at the end of each verse: "No, no, no, no, my dear, let be." Astrophil is a passionate suitor, and he does his best to get Stella to run away with him. But she keeps rejecting every suggestion he makes. The words let be means stop. Forget it. Go away. She will never give in.
She will never go away with Astrophil.
In the "Eleventh Song" Astrophil and Stella have a debate about Astrophil's constancy. Stella claims that Astrophil's love will eventually fade. She claims that his love for her will not last. Astrophil does his best to prove otherwise. He tries to convince Stella that his love is for all of eternity. If it is any consolation to Astrophil, he is right and she is wrong. His love does never fade. However, that does not do Astrophil much good since she never returns his love.
Astrophil reaches a high point, a moment of exultation, in his relationship with Stella. This moment is described in "Sonnet 87." In this poem Astrophil discovers that Stella does have some emotions, some feelings, for him.
Astrophil describes the situation in the first quatrain. He is "forced" to leave or "to depart" from England and from Stella because he has some duty to fulfill. The poem never describes what that duty is. Maybe it is to fight in some war; maybe it is some other reason. The reason does not matter. What does matter is that Astrophil must leave Stella. The effect that leaving Stella will have on Astrophil is also suggested in this quatrain. Since she is always in his "thoughts" and always in his "heart" and since she is the one who can always "clear" up his confusion ("tempests"), his leaving her is obviously going to hurt him immensely.
In the second quatrain, however, we find that
Stella also feels pain or sorrow that Astrophil is leaving. The word smart here (line 5) means hurt. Stella is sighing and crying because she does not want Astrophil to leave.
Astrophil feels two opposite emotions at once.
He describes these mixed feelings in the third quatrain. On the one hand, he is full of sadness because Stella is sad. He sympathizes or even empathizes with Stella's sorrow. He feels her pain. He weeps when he sees her cry. The word pearls (line 9) is a metaphor for Stella's tears. On the other hand, Astrophil is full of joy. In fact, he feels so much joy that he is (metaphorically) swimming in it, as if joy were an ocean. He feels joy because he suddenly has discovered that Stella does have emotions for him. Stella does care for him. Such care or such emotions are, for Astrophil, a sign of her love for him.
Astrophil sums up his feelings in the last three lines of the poem. The "effect" of his leaving Stella is "bitter" to him (causes him sadness) because the effect is Stella's own sadness. But the cause is "sweet" to him (causes him joy) because the cause of his joy is that Stella has feelings for him or that she loves him. The reader should note how Astrophil uses the qualities of taste as metaphors for his emotions.
The last line of the poem ends with a kind of puzzle or paradox (a statement that seems contradictory but actually makes sense on a deeper level). Astrophil states that he would have been vexed if he had not been vexed. We could use troubled or bothered as a substitute for vexed. In other words, Astrophil would have been troubled if he had not been troubled. What Astrophil means is that although Stella's sadness troubles him, he would have been even more troubled if she had not been sad -- because if she had not been sad, that would have meant that she does not love him.
The last poem in Sidney's sonnet cycle is
"Sonnet 108." The story of Astrophil and Stella never reaches a resolution. It does not have a satisfying ending. Astrophil never does win Stella. She never becomes his wife or lover. And poor Astrophil can never get Stella out of his mind. His internal conflict continues for all time.
The most important words in this particular sonnet are despair and joy. Once again, we see opposite emotions occurring in Astrophil at the same time. Astrophil still feels the joy of love. And Astrophil still feels the despair of never being able to attain the woman that he loves.
The poem begins with a personification of Sorrow as a blacksmith. A blacksmith is someone who works over a hot furnace to melt down and re-shape metal. In the poem, Sorrow melts down some lead to enclose Astrophil's heart. The heat of Sorrow's furnace ironically comes from the strength or "might" of Astrophil's "own fire," that is, from the heat of his own passion (line 1). In other words, Astrophil's own passion is the cause of his sorrow. The lead covering his heart symbolizes the trapped love of Astrophil. He feels such great love for Stella, but he is unable to express his love directly to her -- because his love is unrequited, because she still does not love him. Yet Astrophil's oppressed or trapped heart does experience "joy" (line 4) because he does have that love for Stella. His feelings for her also bring him joy even though she does not return those feelings.
In the second quatrain, though, Astrophil's joy is darkened or cut down by his despair. Astrophil uses the metaphor of a bird to describe his soul. The metaphor is extended to include Stella. Stella is the bird's nest. In other words, just as a bird will always fly to its nest, Astrophil's soul always flies to Stella.
However, Despair, personified as a rude and unwelcome guest, visits Astrophil every day. This rude guest then clips the wings (that is, he cuts the wing feathers) of the bird so that the bird cannot fly. Thus, Astrophil's soul cannot reach Stella because Astrophil feels too much dark despair. Astrophil then feels he is completely wrapped in darkness (the "night" of despair). The light of joy within his lead-encased heart has been extinguished.
In the third quatrain Astrophil compares his situation to a prisoner trapped inside a dark room. Phoebus here (in line 10) refers to Phoebus Apollo, the Greek god of the sun. Astrophil asks, "What good are the rays of the sun ("Phoebus' gold") to a poor wretched individual who is trapped inside a dark prison (which has doors of iron) where no sunlight can enter?" Of course, the rays of the sun or light symbolize love. So, what Astrophil is really asking here is this: "What good is love if one is not able to express that love?" Thus, Astrophil feels his love is useless.
His love is a waste. He gives in to his despair.
However, in the last couplet of the sonnet, in the last couplet of the entire sonnet sequence, Astrophil explains that his joy has not completely faded away. It returns to mix with his despair. He still continues to feel both at once. He ends the poem by saying that Stella is his only joy -- because he loves only her. But she is also his only sorrow ("annoy") and, hence, despair -- because she does not return his love.