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Sir Philip Sidney
Sidney was born in Kent and was the son of the Governor of Ireland. He studied at Oxford but did not take a degree preferring to complete his education travelling around Europe. He attended Elizabeth's court, and encouraged young writers like Spenser who dedicated "The Shepherd's Calendar" to him. He fought in the war against Spain, was wounded and died at the young age of thirty two. His funeral was a magnificent show, and many poets, including Spenser and Ben Jon-son, wrote elegies in his memory.
He became a hero and a legend, both for the Protestant cause he died for , and for the national literature he helped to cre¬ate.
He was certainly influenced by Italian tradition that he used in an agile way in all his works. Even though he wrote two prose works he is remembered for his poetry, in particular his sonnets.
"Astrophel and Stella" is composed of one hundred and eight sonnets about his love for Stella that resembles, in a marked way, Petrarch's love for Laura. The name Astrophel plays on the double meaning of "star lover" from Greek and the beginning of Sidney's own name: Phil. Stella is identified as Penelope Devereux, sister of one of Elizabeth's favourites, who became Lady Rich.
On finding himself in love, Astrophil discovers he is the prisoner of an emotion that makes him suffer horribly, and from which he cannot free him¬self. His relationship with Stella has often been compared to the relationship between Elizabeth and her subjects: she is unattainable, to be worshipped from afar and dreamt about |
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