Philip+and+Robert

= Philip, His Brother, and their Lovers =

Of course, because Philip Sidney was the first born of the family and also a prominent poet and member of Elizabeth’s court, Robert spent most of his life in his brother’s shadow. It is not surprising, then, just how much Robert was influenced by his older brother, especially in his poetry. There are several points in Robert’s poems that are distinctly comparable to Philip’s work. One of the most interesting of these points is in Robert’s Song 6, the longest poem of its sequence. In this poem, Robert finally allows a woman lover to speak of her love of a knight. In the introduction to Robert’s poetry, Thomas Croft compares this song to Philip’s song viii of Astrophil and Stella and with good reason. Just as the lady speaks of her love for the knight in Robert’s poem, in this song of Astrophil and Stella, Stella is finally given a voice to reciprocate her love.

In her essay, “The Emergence of Stella in Astrophil and Stella” Nona Fienberg claims that, “As constrained as [Stella] is by her own social situation, and by law and codes of behavior to repress her own desires, Sidney only partially and intermittently perceives her autonomy. While Sidney fails to dramatize a real beloved, involved in a relationship of mature mutuality, the speaker of Astophil and Stella, does risk confronting an affective presence, with a poised articulate voice, in short, a woman with language.” The fact that Astrophil finally meets with his lover, and she can finally speak is very important, especially considering that most of the poem consists of descriptions of her beauty and the pain of love, sometimes even blaming her for the pain. This is what makes it so important to look closely at the moment where Stella can speak for herself. While Philip has spent pages, lines, and words discussing his love for Stella, it is difficult to ever know much about her, besides the beauty of her eyes and the love that she incites in him, until she is finally given a voice.

The same is true of Robert’s Song 6. The reason that Croft made the connection between the brothers is because of the woman finally speaking about her love. Both of the women place the importance of their lives on the love that they have for their lovers. The lady, for instance, says, “Life for me I held not dear, / I loved life for my love.” Similarly, Stella says, “If more may be said, I say: / All my bliss in thee I lay.” These two rare but very important moments link the two brothers through their poetry. However, one cannot help but wonder what the possibly real-life inspirations would have said to their lovers. For instance, would Penelope Devereaux have reciprocated Philip’s feelings? Would Robert’s wife have felt empty in his absence? Both of the brothers seem to project a speech upon these lovers that is full of love and desire. Perhaps their writing was not only away to express themselves, but also a means of comfort. Through the women in their poetry, they could hear the words that they hoped would come from their real-life lovers.

References: Fienberg, Nona. "The Emergence of Stella in Astrophil and Stella." //Studies in English LIterature, 1500-1900.// 25.1 (1985): 5-19 Sidney, Philip. //The Major Works Including Asrophil and Stella.// Ed. Katherine Duncan-Jones. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Sidney, Robert. //The Poems of Robert Sidney//. P.J. Croft, ed. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1984.

--Hannah Ledford