The sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella was published in 1591. One outstanding quality of the sonnets is the sincerity of the poet. Mair says, “The sonnets of Sidney are the first direct expression in English literature of an ultimate and personal experience.’’ The influence of Astrophel and Stella was so strong in the contemporary age that everybody tried his hands to write sonnets.
Astrophel is the central character, who expresses his views, his passion for love for a lady, his conflict between reason and love, and so on. Sometimes, Astrophel seems to be addressing a friend, wits, or other persons and sometimes he communes with himself. The sonnets are a series of conversational monologues in which we hear the outpouring of the poet’s love and frustration caused by her enigmatic attitude or by her perpetual silence.
In this, Sidney touches on a few main themes throughout the sonnet sequence. One of these themes is that of love versus desire. Throughout the sequence, Astrophel is shown as being madly in unreciprocated love with Stella. But this love quickly turns to desire that he cannot control, ultimately leading to their platonic relationship's downfall. Another theme, and all-encompassing metaphor, is the difference between light and day as the difference between Stella being with Astrophel and not being with him, respectively. Even the name of the sequence and characters imply this metaphor, translating to “star-lover” and “star.”
In the beginning, Stella does not bestow any affection on Astrophel and it becomes clear that the feelings aren’t mutual; Stella proceeds to still be kind towards him. Astrophel later discovers that the woman he deeply loves is married to another man. During the marriage, Stella also discovers that she is unhappy which makes Astrophel become more in tune with his feelings for her. He eventually grows to love Stella by being in her presence and gaining knowledge of what and who she is. Stella then returns Astrophel's affection, though Stella isn’t completely satisfied. At the end of the sonnet, Astrophel tries to persuade her to make love with him despite her marriage vows. As a result, Stella ends the relationship and begins to let him know that the affair can no longer be consummated. Even though Stella loves Astrophel she will not continue to break her marriage vows.
Throughout the sequence, Astrophel struggles between his love for Stella and his rationality. Because Stella is married, Astrophel recognizes that he can never have a full relationship with her. Moreover, he recognizes that his infatuation with her is foolish and irrational. He isolates his friends and family, damages his reputation in court, and threatens his emotional and mental well-being because he is obsessed with Stella. Yet, even as his reason urges him to give up Stella for his own good, Astrophel cannot stop loving her. The sonnets are full of dialogues between Reason and Love in which Astrophel admits that Reason is correct, but he remains unable to give up his love. Even at the end of the sequence, Astrophel's love prevails over his reason; he is happier having loved her and lost her than never having loved her at all.
The sonnet sequence expresses the bitter sorrow, the struggle of a virtuous heart between love and duty, desire to possess her. Through the sonnets, the figure of a high-born young man appears more and more revealed. Within the narrow bounds of its fourteen lines, he expressed each movement of his verse, each incident of his love.
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