Sonnet #1: Astrophil & Stella

Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show,
That the 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,

These are the first four lines of Sidney's first Astrophil & Stella sonnet. I have heard this sonnet many times before and have always liked it. What I think is significant about this sonnet is the willingness on the part of the speaker to do what is needed to obtain the favor of the woman he loves. He is willing to embrace his pain and to be pitied in order to obtain her grace. In an odd way, the reader can also see a reflection of interaction between God and a human. (Bare with me here, I know this is abstract) A surface reading of this poem most definately yields the interpretation that the speaker is seeking earthly romantic love and affection from a woman, which he tries to obtain by delighting her with his writing skills, ultimately realizing that it is not his intellect that will bring him favor in her eyes, but his true feelings from his heart. However, the word choice in this poem also reflect the struggle of a man who is searching for salvation. If we think of "my verse" as actions instead of written words one can assume that the speaker is attempting to obtain salvation or God's "grace" through his actions here on Earth. Salvation from God is often referred to as God's grace or mercy. Thus, the speaker is attempting to please God through his works. As the speaker toils on Earth attempting to please God, he hopes that God will see his hard work, pity him, and grant him salvation. If God is therefore the muse for the speaker's actions on Earth, the statement "look in thy heart and write" would be a statement to the speaker directly from God. Instead of an urging from a woman to a man to accurately write of his love for her, this statement can be interpreted as an urging from God for the man to open his heart to receive true salvation. Thus, this poem can be read as a gospel message. Although one's efforts here on Earth to do "good works" and to please God through one's actions are admirable, all one must really do to become "saved" is open their heart to God.