Analysis of Astrophel and Stella: I
Sir Philip Sidney 1554 (Penshurst, Kent) – 1586 (Zutphen)
ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: I
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,--
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.
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.
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."
Scheme | ABCBCBCBCDEDEFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 10101 100101011111 111111110111 101101101101 101101010101 111111010111 100010101101 110101111111 110101001111 1111011011 010101111101 010111110011 111111010011 10110110111 111111101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 840 |
Words | 143 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 15 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 41 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 615 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 137 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 114 Views
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"Astrophel and Stella: I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35234/astrophel-and-stella%3A-i>.
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