Sonnet to the Moon by Sir Philip Sidney

 (e-Content developed by Dr N. A. Jarandikar)

Sonnet to the Moon

-      Sir Philip Sidney

Sir Philip Sidney   was born in 1554 and died in 1586. He was an English poet, scholar, soldier, and courtier. He is remembered as one of the main literary figures of the Elizabethan age. His most notable works include: Astrophel and Stella and The Defence of Poesy.

‘Sonnet 31’ is featured in Astrophil and Stella. It is a sonnet sequence that has 108 sonnets and 11 songs. Astrophil and Stella was probably written in the 1580s and it narrates the story of Astrophil and his hopeless passion for Stella. Particularly, ‘Sonnet 31’ conveys Astrophil’s thoughts while seeing the moon at night.

The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. It has 14 lines and it is written in iambic pentameter. ‘Sonnet 31’ can be divided in an octet and a sestet and it has an ABBA ABBA CDCDEE rhyme scheme. Moreover, the poem has love and nature as the main themes. The tone is reflective.

The octet depicts the poet’s perception of the moon. The poem starts by describing how the moon rises in the sky at night. The poet personifies the moon (“O Moon, thou climb’st the skies!) and projects his own sorrows in the moon (“With how sad steps”). The poet describes the moon carefully, as an individual being: “How silently, and with how wan face!”. There is a repetition of the word “how” in order to emphasize the lyrical voice’s attention to the object that he is describing. The poet questions about the moon’s sadness, and figures that it must be because of “What, may it be that even in heav’nly place /That busy archer his sharp arrows tries” (cupid). The poet’s connection of his feelings to those of the moon is an example of a “pathetic fallacy”, where elements of nature appear to have human emotions.

The sestet presents a series of questions that are crucial to the lyrical voice. The focus of the poem shifts from the description of the moon to the poet’s reflections about love. This is the typical volta, turn, that occurs in the Petrarchan sonnet. The poet asks the moon whether, in the sky, love is treated as “want of wit”. Moreover, he asks if women are as proud as they are on earth This series of questions project problems that the poet is dealing with.

The poet is questioning and thinking about his own sentimental struggles and his relationship with Stella. He feels that love is a virtue, but it sounds like his beloved one, Stella, doesn’t feel the same way about the virtue and constant love.

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