"Sonnet 1" by Philip Sidney

Philip Sidney was born into English nobility and was educated at Shrewsbury School and Oxford University in the mid-16th century. Like many poets, none of his poems were published during his lifetime.

Key terms: sonnet, feet, meter

Sonnet 1

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,—
I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe,
Studying inventions fine, her wits to entertain,
Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence would flow
Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburned brain.
But words came halting forth, wanting Invention’s stay:
Invention, Nature’s child, fled step-dame Study’s blows,
And others’ feet still seemed but strangers in my way.
Thus great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,
Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite:
“Fool,” said my Muse to me, “look in thy heart and write.”

This sonnet is the first in a sequence which actually make up a narrative entitled "Astrophil and Stella" about a nobleman's unrequited love for a taken woman. This sonnet is the exposition, where the narrator shares his deep love for the woman and his desire to let her know. He offers that "She might take some pleasure of my pain" and that "Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain" - he hopes that she will take pity on him for his painful love, and that this pity will actually turn into love on her end. At the end of this sonnet, his muse tells him to "look in thy heart and write" - meaning that he is beating himself up too much about it, and that he needs only to use what is in his heart. It's an uplifting end to this particular sonnet, but it seems like it doesn't end up working in the context of the rest of the narrative. 

http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/242550