Renaissance Poetry Philip Sidney - Research Paper Example

 Renaissance Poetry: Phillip Sidney Most people think of literature is a subject in school or reading as an entertainment activity for the studious. However, literature also has a way of capturing the political, cultural and religious beliefs of the people who lived in the region at the time the work was written. Poetry is no exception to this rule. “[John] Bale, more than any other English reformer, deserves the credit of having grasped, as early as 1544, that ‘the exile of the Papacy from England meant the ending of a whole historical tradition’ and the opportunity for a new one” (Hamilton & Strier, 1996: 7). However, the shift that took place in literature during the Renaissance wasn’t just because of political or religious issues. It was also brought about as a result of new technologies that emerged during this period in history. During the English Protestant Reformation that took place under King Henry VIII, technology made it easier to produce books and other written material. With more books, more people were interested in reading and more ideas were exchanged. This contributed to a shift in religious and political thinking. All these changes are caught in the pages of the literature that was produced from the 1500s to the early 1600s. Because people were now free to question traditional religiously-oriented beliefs, they were able to explore new perspectives on life and take a different look at the literature of their enemies as well as their friends (Aston, 1984). As spiritual thought was expanding, the increasing power of the English throne was pushing at the physical boundaries of the country as it developed a strong naval fleet and laid the foundations of a new empire with the discovery and exploitation of new lands. With all these new ideas also came greater focus on science and technology which further opened the imagination to new realms. Writing near the beginning of this gigantic shift in thought, Sir Phillip Sidney took a somewhat oblique approach to discussing the religious and political changes he saw occurring around him in the poems of his collection Astrophil and Stella. Sir Philip Sidney was born in 1554 and lived until 1586. He was very well educated in the lifestyles and changing attitudes of England’s upper classes. He was educated in the traditional way of the elite class and studied for some years at Christ Church, Oxford but left before earning a degree. He did this so that he could travel and fulfill a post as emissary for the Queen. One of his assignments for the Queen was to try to get the German Emperor, another Protestant, to form a political alliance with England and with the Prince of Orange. However, Sidney’s ideas were more radical than Queen Elizabeth’s and she ordered him to return home (Jokinen, 2004). “Upon his return, Sidney attended the court of Elizabeth I, and was considered ‘the flower of chivalry.’  He was also a patron of the arts, actively encouraging such authors as Edward Dyer, Fulke Greville, and most importantly, the young poet Edmund Spenser, who dedicated The Shepheardes Calender to him” (Jokinen, 2004). He enjoyed himself greatly back in England as a member of court but was banished for a while when he expressed disapproval of the Queen marrying the Duke of Anjou. However, he retained his popularity as many of his writings continued to reflect his opinions regarding courtly love and other issues (Jokinen, 2004). When he died in 1586, Sidney was mourned as the last quintessential ‘Renaissance’ man. With his heavy involvement in politics and the activities at court, it would have been nearly impossible for Sidney to have written anything that did not include the changes taking place during his time. In Astrophil and Stella, written around 1576 and not published until 1591 (5 years after his death), Sidney introduced the construction of the European sonnet cycle into the canon of English poetry at the same time that he questioned the religious and political status quo. “The sonnet sequence allows Sidney to dramatize from yet another point of view the lofty aims of the lover and the defeats imposed by desire” (David Kalstone cited in Low, 2003). In his poetry, Sidney allows his main character Astrophil to reveal the worshipful nature of the feelings he claims to hold for Stella. The character of Stella is strongly modeled on the real-life woman Penelope Devereaux Rich. Sidney had been dating Rich at the time he started the poem sequence. In his pursuit of Stella, Astrophil openly seeks transcendence to heaven through the experience of divine love held for a physical woman. This is made particularly clear in Sonnet 5 when Astrophil reveals that he sees his devotion for Stella to be the expression of his love for God: “It is most true, that eyes are formed to serve / The inward light; and that the heavenly part / Ought to be king” (1-2). These ideas were typical for the time and follow a tradition known as Petrachan. “Of course, we know that Sidney puts the Petrarchan conventions into question in the opening sonnets of his sequence. … We also know that, in saying this, Sidney is performing one of the accepted rhetorical moves – indeed, that he is still thoroughly within the Petrarchan tradition” (Low, 2003: 13). In other words, although he is questioning the ideals of this tradition, he is unable to escape from within it. The idea that unrequited love for a woman can lead a man into the divine love of God he is expected to develop has a tragic flaw that is proven in Astrophil’s fate. The poetry sequence is recognized as representing the height of the Petrarchan tradition in England at the same time that it exposes the various ways in which this line of thinking was breaking down in the face of increasing change in politics, economics and culture which were starting to replace it (Low, 2003). Unsurprisingly, Astrophil’s feelings for Stella do not transcend and he is thus considered the ultimate failure in love. This shows how the Petrarchan tradition of idealizing the feminine to a point where she must remain chaste and untouchable to retain her value makes this kind of transcendence and fulfillment of love impossible. By reversing the Petrarchan ideals in this way, Astrophil’s situation provides a way of examining the concepts of this tradition at the same time that it makes broader statements about the condition of thought regarding political and religious ideals of the time. In the series, Astrophil is not able to transcend into heaven through his love for Stella but instead becomes blocked in his progress by the image of her. This has been interpreted as a metaphor for the way that the Catholic Church had become a hindrance to Christians attempting to reach heaven through the various false idols that were thrown in their path. In many ways, Astrophil’s love for Stella was justified by its comparison with the Catholic cult of Mary as the true vessel of God (Berry, 1995). Just as she stood as a metaphor for the Catholic Church, Stella can also be seen as a metaphor for Queen Elizabeth. Her power as the idealized and adored woman reflects the power, beauty and wisdom of the Queen particularly in Sonnets 6 and 9 as Queen Virtue “which some call Stella’s face” (1). Astrophil is trapped because he cannot win Stella’s love which only makes her more powerful and, at the same time, he cannot stop his devotions. Because he cannot justify his affection and he cannot escape it, Astrophil has no other option but to leave everything in the hands of his queen. Thus, many of the political and religious changes of his time can be discovered within the lines of Sidney’s poetry. The concept of Petrarchan ideals regarding the untouchable woman are already beginning to break down as a result of the political and religious turmoil that was brought about during the Protestant Reformation. Reality emerged as a tangible concept to be explored while the subject of courtly love, the beautiful women who were admired often from afar and with little involvement of their own, were revealed as being more valuable with actual engagement. Works Cited Aston, Margaret. Lollards and Reformers: Images and Literacy in Late Medieval Religion. London: The Hambleton Press, 1984. Berry, Phillippa. Of Chastity and Power. London: Routledge, 1989. Hamilton, Donna B. & Strier, Richard. Religion, Literature and Politics in Post Reformation England: 1540-1688. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Jokinen, Anniina. “Life of Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586).” Luminarium. (14 April 2004). Low, Anthony. The Reinvention of Love. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Read More