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LOVING IN TRUTH
By Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)

At a Glance
Poet: Sir Philip Sidney Point of View: 1st Person
Written: 1581-1582 Poetic Form/Genre: Petrarchan Sonnet
Published: 1591 Literary Period: Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)
Tone: Hopeful yet melancholic longing. Meter: Iambic Hexameter /Alexandrine
Central Theme: Explores the poet’s struggle to Rhyme Scheme: ABABABAB CDCDEE
express his love for his muse.
Total Stanzas: 2 (Octave and Sestet)
Speaker: Astrophel or the poet himself
Total Lines: 14

About the Poet

Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
Sir Philip Sidney (1554 - 1586 ) was an English poet, courtier, scholar, and soldier who is remembered as one of the
most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His works include Astrophel and Stella, The Defence of Poesy (also
known as The Defence of Poesy or An Apology for Poetry), and The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia. Like the best of
the Elizabethans, Sidney was successful in more than one branch of literature, but none of his works appeared until
after his death. His finest achievement was a sequence of 108 love sonnets. These owe much to Petrarch and Pierre de
Ronsard in tone and style and place Sidney as the greatest Elizabethan sonneteer after Shakespeare.

Personal Life:
He was born on 30 November 1554 at Penshurst Place, Kent, of an aristocratic family. He was educated at
Shrewsbury and Christ Church, Oxford. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley. In 1572,
at the age of 18, he was elected to Parliament as a Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and in the same year
travelled to France as part of the embassy to negotiate a marriage between Elizabeth I and the Duc D'Alençon. In
1586 Sidney joined the Battle of Zutphen, fighting for the Protestant cause against the Spanish. During the battle, he
was shot in the thigh and died of gangrene 26 days later, at the age of 31.

Literary Career:
Sidney penned several major works of the Elizabethan era, including Astrophel and Stella, the first Elizabethan
sonnet cycle, and Arcadia, a heroic prose romance. He was also known for his literary criticism, known as The
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Defence of Poesy. Although he shared his writing with his close friends, he did not allow his work to be published
during his lifetime.

Major Themes in His Poetry:

 Love and Desire:

In Astrophel and Stella, Sidney explores the pain of one-sided love. Astrophel loves Stella deeply, but she
doesn’t return his feelings. His strong desire for her causes him emotional pain and inner conflict. This shows
how powerful and damaging love can be when it’s not returned.

 Beauty and Its Impermanence:

Sidney’s poetry often talks about how beauty doesn’t last forever. In some of his sonnets, he shows sadness
about how illness can ruin a person’s looks. In Arcadia, the character Parthenia loses her beauty because of an
injury, which shows how quickly physical beauty can fade. Through this, Sidney reminds us that true worth
comes from inner values, not just outward appearance.

 The Nature of Poetry :

In An Apology for Poetry, Sidney argues that poetry is powerful and important. He says poetry is better than
history and philosophy at teaching lessons and inspiring people because it can create a different world that
shows deeper truths. Poetry, he believes, isn’t just for decoration—it helps people become wiser and more
virtuous.

 The Human Condition:

Sidney’s writings explore many parts of human life, like love, ambition, sadness, and the struggle to do what’s
right. In Arcadia, his characters face both political and personal problems, showing how complex people can
be. In Astrophel and Stella, he shares deep feelings and personal struggles, giving insight into human
emotions.

 Virtue and Morality:

Sidney believed that poetry should help people become better and more moral. In An Apology for Poetry, he
explains that poetry can shape character and guide people to live good lives. He saw poetry as a tool to
encourage virtue through imagination and storytelling.

Famous Works

 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝘆 – This is one of Sidney's lesser-known works, a masque written and performed for Queen
Elizabeth in 1578 or 1579.
 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 – The first of the famous English sonnet sequences, Astrophel and Stella was probably
composed in the early 1580s. The sonnets were well-circulated in manuscript before the first (apparently pirated)
edition was printed in 1591; only in 1598 did an authorised edition reach the press. Philip Sidney's 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵e𝗹
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 is an English sonnet sequence containing 108 sonnets and 11 songs. The name derives from the two
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Greek words, 'aster' (star) and 'phil' (lover), and the Latin word 'stella' meaning star. Thus Astrophel is the star
lover, and Stella is his star.
 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲'𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮 – The Arcadia, by far Sidney's most ambitious work, was as significant
in its own way as his sonnets. The work is a romance that combines pastoral elements with a mood derived from
the Hellenistic model of Heliodorus. William Shakespeare borrowed from it for the Gloucester subplot of King
Lear; parts of it were also dramatized by John Day and James Shirley. Samuel Richardson named the heroine of
his first novel after Sidney's Pamela. Arcadia exists in two significantly different versions.
 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 – An Apology for Poetry (or, The Defence of Poesy) is a work of literary criticism by
Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney. It was written in approximately 1580 and first published in 1595, after his death.
It is generally believed that he was at least partly motivated by Stephen Gosson, a former playwright who
dedicated his attack on the English stage, The School of Abuse, to Sidney in 1579, but Sidney primarily
addresses more general objections to poetry, such as those of Plato. The work also offers important comments on
Edmund Spenser and the Elizabethan stage.
 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺𝘀 – These English translations of the Psalms were completed in 1599 by Philip Sidney's sister
Mary.

 About the Poem:

Loving in Truth is the opening sonnet in the sequence entitled Astrophel and Stella, a collection of 108 sonnets and
11 songs. Astrophel and Stella may draw on an incident in Sidney's own life. In 1576, Sidney was offered the hand of
a young woman named Penelope Devereaux, the daughter of the Earl of Essex. That proposal came about in a rather
strange way: through Penelope's father's will. At that time, Sidney didn't take this offer seriously: Penelope was still a
young girl, and Sidney a man in his twenties. Sidney likely saw the Earl's offer more as an affectionate gesture than
an earnest proposal. He turned down the proposal, she married Lord Robert Rich, and Sidney promptly realized he
was in love with her. His sonnet-sequence is addressed to Penelope Devereux. Though the story does not have to be
literal autobiography, Sidney's love for Stella, on the artistic level, has been traced to love-affair of the poet's own life.
Astrophel means 'star-lover' and refers to the poet, and Stella or 'star' represents his beloved. Sidney was unable to
distance himself from the tradition of Platonic love celebrated by the Canzoniere of Petrarch. 'Stella' is more of an
ideal mistress than a real person. She is 'guiding' star for the poet.

COMPOSITION AND PUBLICATION:

This sonnet “Loving in Truth” taken from Astrophel and Stella which was probably written in 1581-82,was
published in Quarto form in 1591 by Thomas Newman, a London bookseller, and later published in a revised folio
edition of 1598 version of Sidney's Arcadia .

Theme
One important theme of this sonnet is love or at least physical desire and other is the desire to write poetry that can be
used to persuade a reluctant woman to return the speaker’s affection.
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The Poem
1.
Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,

That she, dear She, might take some pleasure of my pain,-

Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,

Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,-

I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe;

Studying inventions fine her wits to entertain,

Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow

Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn’d brain.

Word Meanings (Stanza 1)

 Loving in truth-loving sincerely. The poet is here  Knowledge might pity win-she might be
asserting his sincere love for his beloved sympathized by knowing his poetic pain.
(Penelope Devereux).  Pity grace obtain -her pity might lead her to
 Fain –interested, glad, eager, willing. show her favour to the poet.
 Fain in verse my love to show - the poet is  Sought- looked for or searched.
interested to assert his love to the lady by writing  Fit words - appropriate words.
verse in her praise.  Paint – delineate, picture.
 That- so that, in order that  Woe- misery
 She or dear she -the poet's beloved, Stella  The Blackest face of woe-the deep sense of
(Penelope Devereux); he gives emphasis by using sorrow, the saddest condition of his mind.
the word 'dear'.  Studying -emulating, going through.
 Take some pleasure - find interest or delight.  Inventions fine - brilliant poetical fancy or
 Of my pain- his poetic pain. ‘Pain’ has a double creation by other writers.
meaning:- One is ‘the pains of love’ and the other  Wit- mental faculties, intellectual powers.
is ‘the hardships of creative writing’.  Her wit to entertain --the poet's whole intention
 Pleasure might cause her read-the lady might is to entertain Stella, to entertain her intellectual
take interest in reading the poetry out of the appetite.
delight getting from his poetic pain.  Oft- frequently, often time.
 Reading might make her know- Stella might  Oft turning-the poet often turned.
know the depth of the poet's love for her.  Leaves -pages of books.
 Pity - here sympathy or compassion for the  Other’s leaves - leaves of the books written by
lover’s suffering. others.
 Thence- from their verses
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 Flow- come out as a stream  My sunburn’d brain - the poet's heat oppressed
 Fresh & Fruitful - effective. excited brain. The poet searched to some other's
 Showers - showers of rain, here creativity. creation to cool his excited brain.

Stanza 1 Paraphrase :
I (the poet) am loving in truth and fain my love to show in verses so that she, my dear, ladylove might take some
pleasure out of my painful labour of writing verses. Pleasure might cause her to read my verses, and reading my
verses make her know the depth of my passion of love. When she will have knowledge of my sad state of mind she
will pity me. When pity will soften her mind, she will favour me. Studying poems of brilliant fancy I sought fit words,
to paint the blackest face of woe with a view to giving her intellectual pleasure. I turn others' books (poems) often to
see if some fresh and fruitful showers of poetic inspiration would flow upon my dry, sunburned mind.

Analysis:
The poet, in his sincere devotion, desired to express his love in verse. He hoped to offer pleasure to his lady-love by
his own poetic pain. She might read his verse for the sake of her pleasure. She might thereby come to know of his
love for her, and that, too, would lead her to feel pity for him and favour him with her grace and love. He, therefore,
for this sought hard to find appropriate words to express the feeling of his heart, much anguished by unrequited love.
He tried to invent some art to delight the lady by his verse and studied other authors to get enlightenment and
guidance for his proper poetic creation, that would give entertainment to her.

But words came halting forth, wanting Invention's stay;

Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows,

And others' feet still seem’d but strangers in my way.

Thus great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,

Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,

"Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart and write.”

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Word Meanings (Stanza 2)

 Words- diction, the stock phrases and worn-out  Great with child - pregnant, figuratively to be full
expressions of other poets. of ideas that can please his beloved.
 Halting - stopping frequently.  Great with child to speak-here the poet means to
 But words came halting forth- but the poet's say about his newly roused poetic inspiration. His
words came to be halted; they could not come out newly roused poetic impulse is compared to a child
fluently. who learns to speak.
 Wanting – lacking, requiring, needing.  Throes –sorrows, labour pains, pangs of child birth
 Wanting Invention's stay - lacking the potency of and pains of poetic creation.
creation or imagination.  Helpless in my throes -the poet felt helpless in his
 Invention - poetic creativity. pain roused from his inability to express his
 Stay- support. emotion in perfect words.
 Invention, Nature's child – poetic invention  Biting - expressing the poet's restlessness.
(poetic impulsiveness) is the child of nature that  Truant pen -like a truant boy his pen seemed to
comes of itself effortlessly. run away; idle or erring pen which has shirked its
 Fled –escaped from. duty of writing. Here a comparison is made
 Step-dame- step-mother. between a pen and a truant boy.
 Step-dame Study- Study is taken as the step-  Beating myself for spite- the poet became angry
mother of the poetic invention. with himself for his failure to do what he so
 Blow- hard strokes. earnestly sought.
[* Note- Invention and Study are personified  Spite-anger, annoyance
here. Invention as opposed to study, is a natural  Fool-the poet is called 'fool', for he was seeking
and inborn talent. Invention depends on inspiration foolishly elsewhere.
spontaneity and inspiration while study depends  Muse - According to the classical myth the
on effort or imitation. They had a bitter Goddess of poetry- the Muses were the nine
relationship between them; it was that of a step- daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory) who
son and a step-mother.] dwelt on Mount Olympus or Helicon. They were
 Other's feet -the feet of verses of others. Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry; Clio of history;
 Still- always Erato of amatory poetry; Thalia, of comedy;
 Seemed- appeared Melpomene of tragedy; Terpsichore, of dancing;
 But- only Euterpe of lyric poetry; Polyhymnia, of lyric poetry
 Seemed but strangers in my way-the poet could and eloquence; and Urania of astronomy.
not feel quiet by taking his inspiration from others'  My Muse-his guiding poetic inspiration.
verse.
 Look in thy heart, and write - the poet should seek inspiration in his own heart.
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Stanza 2 Paraphrase:
But words, lacking the support of poetic inspiration, did not come freely. Poetic creation, the child of Nature, flies for
fear of the tortures of the step-mother, Study and the poems (feet) of others only seemed not to fit in with my poetic
temperament. Thus possessed with the intense desire (child) to speak out my mind, but unable to do so I feel helpless
and am in terrible pain comparable to labour pain. So I bite my truant pen, and beat myself in anger. My Muse than
said to me, "Fool, look in thy heart and write."

Analysis:
But the poet could not express his creative, poetic impulse. No deep and serious study, no scrupulous imitation of
great masters, could inspire his inner, spontaneous feeling, and he remained in the helpless pang of suspense and
frustration. He was eager to express his love in the appropriate verse, but remained painfully mute to give out what
he desired. But thereafter came his revelation. He realized that he should turn to his own heart, wherein lay his true
inspiration and write according to its dictates.

Symbols:
In Sonnet 1 from Astrophel and Stella ,several important symbols help to express the speaker’s emotions and themes.
Here are the key symbols used in this poem:
Sunburn’d brain- symbolizes unproductivity.
Showers- symbols of productivity/ creativity
Pain and pleasure- Pain and pleasure are symbolic of the paradox of unrequited love. The speaker hopes that his
emotional suffering (pain) will give Stella joy or appreciation (pleasure), showing how love can be both beautiful and
tormenting.
Muse- The Muse symbolizes inspiration or poetic guidance. At the end of the sonnet, the Muse advises the poet to
stop over thinking and write from the heart. This symbolizes the inner truth and sincerity needed in poetry and love.

Figure of Speech and Allusions:

 Diacope- [Diacope is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated with a small number of intervening
words].
1. That she, dear She, might take some pleasure of my pain,-
2. Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,
3. Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,-
4. “But words came halting forth, wanting Invention's stay;
Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows,”

 Personification- [Personification is a figure of speech in which nature, an inanimate object or an abstract idea
is invested with the attribute of a living being].
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1. But words came halting forth, wanting invention's stay;

2. Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows;
3. "Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart and write.”

 Metaphor:- (Metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implicit comparison is made between two unallied
things or idea.)

1. “I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe”

2. “Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn'd brain”
3. “And others' feet still seem’d but strangers in my way”
4. “Thus great with child to speak and helpless in my throes
Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,”

 Allusion: (Allusion is a figure of speech in which a word or expression used recalls to one mind some notable
characters, memorable events, legend, writing, or saying of the past ).

1. “"Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write."”

Meter:
This poem is written in Iambic Hexameter, also known as Alexandrines. Alexandrines use twelve-syllable lines.

Rhyme Scheme:
Sidney's sonnet-sequence Astrophel and Stella is a characteristic Petrarchan sonnet but in Loving in Truth, Sidney
has made a novelty in the rhyme pattern by combining the Italian and the English forms of sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets
are divided into two parts-an octave consisting of 8 lines and a sestet consisting of 6 lines. The present poem has five
rhymes, the usual number in a typical Petrarchan Sonnet. There are some variations in the metrical arrangement and
the lines are found to rhyme alternately, except the last two lines. The octave is written in ABABABAB. But, the
sestet has a quatrain rhyming CDCD and like an English sonnet ends with a couplet rhyming EE.

Speaker:
The speaker of this sonnet is the love-lorn Astrophel or the poet himself.

Tone:
The poem is not a helpless lament of a lover. It has no angry declination or renunciation, but rather filled with
amorous optimism. The tone of the poem is hopeful yet melancholic longing for unrequited love.
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Setting:
While there’s no clear setting in this poem, readers might well imagine that it takes place in Sir Philip Sidney’s own
16th century English world.

CRITICS' VIEW:
Arthur Compton-Ricket

“Less brilliant than Marlowe, less witty than Lyly, inferior to Spenser in glamour and excelled by many a
contemporary song-writers in deftness of fancy, he (Sidney) has produced a body of work which, for its versatile
excellence, places him in the foremost rank of his time.”

THE END
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