What is the main idea of Sonnet 31 by Sir Philip Sidney?

In Sonnet 31, Philip Sidney develops a mournful and bitter tone through the use of elegant syntax as the speaker, a heartbroken man named Astrophel, questions the moon about women and love in order develop the theme of unrequited love.

What is being addressed in Sonnet 31?

Sonnet 31 is part of the sonnet cycle Astrophil and Stella, which generally follows the sonnet conventions established by Petrarch. Sidney addressed his to Stella, whose name means “star.” Sidney’s speaker, Astrophil, or “star-lover,” expresses many of the complex emotions of a person in love.

Why does Sidney address his poem to the moon?

Sidney turned her down, she married Lord Robert Rich, and Sidney promptly realised he was in love with her. What follows is a close analysis of Sonnet 31, which sees Sidney addressing the moon as a potential fellow-sufferer from Cupid’s cruel arrows.

Are beauties there as proud as here they be meaning?

Are beauties there as proud as here they be? The poem now shifts from a description of the Moon’s and the speaker’s lovesickness to a series of more general reflections on love. This sudden shift isn’t anything to get fussy about. You see, in sonnets, there’s usually a shift of some kind right around line 9.

What is the real subject of with how sad steps?

Man and the Natural World While this isn’t your typical “oh the trees are so beautiful” nature poem, “With How Sad Steps” is about one dude’s relationship to the moon, which is part of nature.

Why is the speaker addressing sleep?

The real reason the speaker wants to sleep is so he can see the dream version of his beloved, Stella. Lines 1-2: The poem opens with the speaker addressing and apostrophizing a personified Sleep. He then goes on to describe Sleep with three different metaphors (“knot of peace,” “bating place of wit,” “balm of woe”).

How Moon steps are sad?

With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb’st the skies! How silently, and with how wan a face! That busy archer his sharp arrows tries! To me, that feel the like, thy state descries.

What is the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 39?

They follow a consistent rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and are written in iambic pentameter.

How do sad steps?

What is Sonnet 18 an example of?

Sonnet 18 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet, having 14 lines of iambic pentameter: three quatrains followed by a couplet. It also has the characteristic rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem reflects the rhetorical tradition of an Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet.

Is personification used in Sonnet 18?

Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 18 contains several fine examples of personification (the application of human characteristics to nonhuman beings or objects). Both summer and the sun are personified here. Nature, too, is personified, for it has a “changing course untrimm’d” that makes even the fair ones decline.

What does Sir Philip Sidney say in Sonnet 31?

Sonnet 31 Sir Philip Sidney. In Sir Philip Sidney ‘s “Sonnet XXXI”, the writer is addressing the moon. In the first two lines, he is commenting on the pale, sad appearance of the moon, and then, in the remainder of the poem, he is exploring the question of whether even in the “heavenly place” where the moon resides, there is love,…

How does Philip Sidney use fallacy in Astrophil and Stella sonnet 31?

Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella Sonnet 31 employs pathetic fallacy, personification, the moon likened to a sick lover, with sad steps and pale face. Using figurative language and rhetorical questioning Sidney reveals the frustrated inner world of Astrophil, yearning for Stella’s love.

What is the opening line to Sonnet 31?

‘With how sad steps, O moon, thou climb’st the skies’ is a brilliant opening line that would have made Sonnet 31 worth analysing regardless of what followed. But as it happens, the rest of the poem holds up to close analysis too.

Who is the Speaker of Astrophil and Stella sonnet 31?

Philip Sidney’s Sonnet 31 is part of a long sequence of sonnets dealing with hope, frustration and despair within love. Astrophil the speaker (Sidney) from the first sonnet is eager to express his love for Stella (Penelope Devereux soon to be or already Lady Rich) through his writing ‘in verse my love to show’ and so gain her favour.