Question

How does the following poem express the beliefs of the humanist movement? Sonnet 4 from Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney Virtue, alas, now let me take some rest. Thou set’st a bate between my will and wit. If vain love have my simple soul oppress’d, Leave what thou likest not, deal not thou with it. Thy scepter use in some old Cato’s breast; Churches or schools are for thy seat more fit. I do confess, pardon a fault confess’d, My mouth too tender is for thy hard bit. But if that needs thou wilt usurping be, The little reason that is left in me, And still th’effect of thy persuasions prove: I swear, my heart such one shall show to thee That shrines in flesh so true a deity, That Virtue, thou thyself shalt be in love.

Answer 1

If your options are:
A) It emphasizes the fulfillment of worldly love.
B) It mentions religious institutions such as the Catholic Church.
C) It emphasizes the superiority of virtue.
D) It uses reason to make its point.
The correct answer should be A) It emphasizes the fulfillment of worldly love. Humanism is all about being human, as its name suggests. This sonnet emphasizes it because the speaker is divided between traditional, medieval, religious notion of Virtue, and his earthly, human desire. Furthermore, he explicitly says that he is weary of Virtue and its rigid and stern demands.