In literary history, a lovesick character or protagonist who is deeply affected by romantic or passionate emotions, particularly associated with Elizabethan and Renaissance literature.
Likely from 'astro-' + 'fell' (archaic word for cruel or fierce), possibly influenced by the literary character Astrophil from Sir Philip Sidney's 'Astrophil and Stella.' The exact etymology is debated among literary scholars.
Astrophil literally means 'star-lover,' and Sidney's 1582 sonnet sequence was one of the most emotionally intense love poems in English—his work defined what lovestruck poets would write about for centuries afterward.
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