Astrophil, the sonnet and Princess Astrophile

Raxxla Verse reference

“To the jewel that burns on the brow of the mother of galaxies!
To the whisperer in witchspace, the siren of the deepest void!
The parent’s grief, the lover’s woe, and the yearning of our vagabond hearts. To Raxxla!”

Relevant Authors and works

• Phillip Sidney : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Sidney
  • Astrophel and Stella : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophel_and_Stella
    • http://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/
  • Mary Sidney : Arcadia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sidney
• John Milton : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton
  • Paradise Lost : https://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml

Discussions

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-8293878

“Intoxicating vapours, were thought to have been inhaled by the oracle which drifted up, emanated from a crack in the ground (rift) where Python / Pytho was slayed by Apollo (coins have been located which depict a serpent wound around the Omphalos or sat upon by Apollo).”

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-7387451

“Using this I took the jewel that burns on the brow of the mother of galaxies as a reference but to what area of the galaxy I don’t yet know, the only thing that came to mind straight away was the minor faction, Mother Gaia but this theory will need some work. The next part that stood out to me was the siren of the deepest void. Looking at the galaxy map on the codex there are two regions that seem to relate to this, Lyras Song and The Void.”

“There are 18 planets in the region, one Earth Type, 1 Ammonia, 2 Water PLanets, 1 Metal Rich, 2 High MEtal, 2 Rocky NA’s, 1 Rocky Ice, 1 Ice NA, 1 Metal Rich with Atmos, 2 High Metals, 2 Rocky with Atmos, 1 Rocky Ice with Atmos and 1 Ice Planet with Atmos”

Notes from astrophil-and-stella

Possible references

Apollo appears as Phoebus.

• Apollo
• Delphi
  • Pythia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia
    • Oilpainting John Collier Priestess of Delphi
      • Sybil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibyl
    • Themis
    • Phoebe
    • Gaia / Gaea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia
    • Speaking in Dactylic hexameter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactylic_hexameter
      • Later in Prose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prose
    • “The rift of the Gulf of Corinth is one of the most geologically active sites on Earth”
• Python https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(mythology)
  • Artemis
• Arcadian (system)

1. Is she Princess Astrophel?

Mary Sidney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sidney

2. Notes

https://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/summary

preface, “the lovers’ woe” = the kiss? I see no connection right now.

• 5, “yearning of our vagabond hearts” = “that on earth we are but pilgrims made, And should in soul up to our country move”, sonnet 5?
  earth or heart & soul? Cupid is also mentioned.
• Sonnet 6, “While tears pour out his ink, and sighs breathe out his words” is considered to be whisper (whisperer).
  See: https://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/summary-sonnets-1-31
• 17, “Of stella’s brows make him two better bows, “, brow
• 17, mother of Cupid = Venus But how Venus be a reference to mother of galaxies?
• 20, I just noticed again a reference “sweet black which veils the heav’nly eye” referring to “Stella’s lovely, black eyes”. Deepest void?
• 26, “two stars in Stella’s face”
• 28, “Princess of Beauty”
• 32, Asking Morpheus, “Whence hast thou ivory, rubies, pearl and gold”, jewel. Morpheus is at Colonia, when was it named and by whom?
• 37, I just liked this one, tongue in cheek, “Toward Aurora’s court a nymph doth dwell, …”
• 46, Cupid being called a vagabond, “Alas poor wag, that now a scholar art”.
  Ref https://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/summary-sonnets-32-50
  “which would make Love nothing more than a homeless, despicable vagabond”
  “Astrophel and Love are no longer at odds with one another; they are comrades suffering from the same torments at Stella’s hands”
• 51, Atlas
• 55, Nine muses, nine sisters.
• 57, Adressing Woe
• 72, “Venus is taught with Dian’s wings to fly” Diana,Venus,..

Glossary of terms

https://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/glossary-of-terms

Aganippe
 in classical mythology, a spring of poetic inspiration on Mt. Helicon

Dian, Diana, the virgin goddess of the moon and of hunting, also a protector of women
 Ref Diana (Roman), Hecate and later Artemis-Hecate (<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_%28mythology%29>)
 
Ganymede
 a mythological boy so beautiful that Jove fell in love with him. Jove made him his cup-bearer in the heavens.
 
Helen
 the beautiful wife of King Menelaus who was abducted to Troy by the young man Paris. 
 This was the stated cause of the Trojan War (see the Iliad).

Mars
 the ancient Roman god of war and agriculture, identified with the Greek god Ares

Parnassus
 a Greek mountain that was sacred to Apollo, Dionysus, and the nine Muses
.
"Phoebus" see Apollo

Tantals
 a reference to Tantalus, a son of Zeus who stole from the gods, revealed their secrets, and killed 
 and boiled his son. Tantalus was punished (tantalized).

Rhyme scheme

https://www.gradesaver.com/astrophil-and-stella/study-guide/themes

“Sidney also uses the rhyme scheme used by Petrarch in his poetry, abba abba cdc ece.” “Sidney goes so far as to be creative even with the sonnet’s rhyme scheme.”

More on rhyme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarchan_sonnet