I need help with a sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney!!?

Question

It's sonnet 45 from Astrophil ans Stella:

"Stella oft sees the very face of woe
Painted in my beclouded stormy face,
But cannot skill to pity my disgrace,
Not though thereof the cause herself she know;
Yet hearing late a fable, which did show
Of lovers never known a grievous case,
Pity thereof gat in her breast such place
That, from the sea derived, tears' spring did flow.
Alas, if fancy, drawn by imaged things
Though false, yet with free scope, more grace doth breed
Than servant's wrack, where new doubts honor brings;
Then think, my dear, that you in me do read
Of lovers' ruin some sad tragedy.
I am not I; pity the tale of me".

What does "tale" mean in the last line? Is the author punning on the word “tale”, playing with its sound and meaning?

Thank you !!

Answer 1

I think it's saying that Stella only sees him as this thing to pity, but in the last line he says that she has it wrong, so pity the view she has of him.

Answer 2

sonnet 39 sir philip sidney

Answer 3

Yes to Diana P. about Astrophel and Stella being a whole sequence of sonnets and about the etymology of the names. The essence of this one is that, even though "Stella" knows that "Astrophel's" love for her is what makes him so sad, she cannot bring herself to show him any compassion but at the same time can cry over a made-up sad story of lovers. Therefore he suggests that she regard him not as himself ("I am not I") but as a character in another sad piece of fiction and pity him in that context. Whether there's any pun on "tale" and "tail" I'm not sure, but the Elizabethans did go in for that sort of thing.

Answer 4

Just my opinion. No, I don't think there's any pun here. I think he simply means his tale, his story, what happened to him. From the first 3 lines, it's clear that the speaker is not a happy camper; he's suffering from some "disgrace."

What I don't get is, "I am not I."

I don't know if this will help, but "Astrophil" may be from the Greek words for "star" ("aster") and "lover" ("filos"), and "stella" is Latin for "star." So it *may* translate to "Star-Lover and Star."

These sonnets are all connected. Context may help:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/stella.html

EDIT: Maybe it is a pun. He kills himself in the end.
THANK YOU, Aida!

Answer 5

Pity the end (tail) of me

Pity the story (tale) of me