Astrophel and Stella
Author: first_name: Sir Philip
last_name: Sidney
Language: English
Year: 1598

Sonnet sequences, which these poems by Sidney made very popular in the Elizabethan age, reflected the Medieval motif of courtly love, whereby a wretched lover courts an unavailable woman, typically married already and faithful to her vows. The poet, although unsuccessful, is a slave to her beauty and virtue, which, by pulling in opposite directions, hold him in an agonizing tension that prolongs the sequence.<br><br>

Sidney wrestles creatively, though, with the restrictions of the ancient con