Natalie Meyers' Hidden Heart and Astophil's Astohpil and Stella

946 Words2 Pages

Natalie Meyers'Hidden Heart and Astophil's Astohpil and Stella

Longing to bleed my love into words that stain his heart,

That in my wound he take, delight that has no wear:

Delight may light a fire, of burning thoughts to start,

To fan the flame of pity, would help to spark his care,

Desperate to show my sorrow with words equal to art.

Searching round the depths for lucid language, fair,

The force behind my mind locked round a solid part.

Some spry ideas seeped, through my reason with a tear,

But whisked into a wind, that twirled them in a haze,

And dizzy fog that blurs my head into a stare,

Becomes a source of strength to break my callous gaze.

Frustration takes a dive, and offers me a dare,

A new voice (not my own), calls me from within,

Write with your heart not head; and now I can begin.

The Spirit to Scribe

The desire to express one’s feelings can be a complicated and stressful task. In the free imitation poem, "Hidden Heart," by Natalie Meyers, a young woman expresses the frustration she experiences when trying to write her loved one. Likewise, the first sequence of Sir Philip Sydney’s sonnet, "Astrophil and Stella," explores one man’s struggle to write from his heart and eliminate the yearning to select the perfect words for a letter written to his love, Stella. Both Astrophil and Meyers are distraught over what to say and how to say it. Since "Hidden Heart" is an imitation of Sydney’s sonnet, several parallels can be drawn between their common theme, word choice, and form. The "Hidden Hearts" theme of free expression, its diction, and structure, must be compared and contrasted with intertextual references from "Astrophil and Stella," in order to effectively analyze it.

Throughout the poem, Natalie ...

... middle of paper ...

...each a resolution by the end of the poem. Both meter and rhyme are very essential in building a solid, yet fluid structure to each poem.

"Hidden Heart" mirrors "Astrophil and Stella" in many ways, but contains several unique qualities as well. Natalie’s account was based on personal experience, where Astrophil is a character creation of Sir Philip Sydney. The similarities and differences of the theme, diction, and structure helped enrich both poems without cheapening them. Overall, both stressed the importance of writing with one’s heart to convey true emotion instead of agonizing over the literary quality of a personal letter. Also, the stylistic aspects of each poem carefully wove in a tone that contributed to their personality. With all of these attributes combine, Natalie and Sydney demonstrate the value found in linking two poems together through imitation.

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