Sir Philip Sydney and poetry
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Phillip Sydney’s defence against poetry in the Apology for Poetry
Sir Philip Sydney was born in Penshurst Place, England in 1554. He came from a family of one girl and three boys with him being the first born. The parents were of the elite in the society because the father served as Ireland’s Lord Deputy (Van Dorsten, Smith and Kinney, 138). He was married to Frances Walsingham. Sydney attended various academic institutions including the Christ church, Oxford. In his life time, Sydney played a role in European politics; he was a courtier and a soldier, who was deemed as passionate and fragile in the field of war (Luminarium). Critics in England know Phillip Sydney as an important figure in the society and according to Johan Huizinga, a Dutch historian; Sydney was the epitome of self cultivation and a great exemplar (Van Dorsten, Smith and Kinney, ix).
In his lifetime, Sir Sydney has written a variety of poetry. Among one if his literary work, Apology for Poetry, he defends the spirit of poetry against the charges placed against it since the time of the great Greek poet Plato by critics. Sir Sydney considers poetry as old as the holly book and it encourages human integrity. According to Sir Sydney’s disagreement against poetry in his work of art, he criticises the views of held against poetry. These charges include the fact a human being can engage in more worthwhile activities instead of poetry. In his argument, Sydney points out that poetry has been man’s first inspirational source and has been at the forefront in educating and promoting good virtues (Clarke, 1).
The other false denunciation against poetry is that it is the mother of lies (Clarke, 2). According to Sydney, poetry cannot lie because it does not authenticate an individual’s perspective about the piece literature. According to him, poetry has an aim of expounding an individual’s perspective because the poet is not a prophet and speaks of things that have not taken place and have no underlying truth about them therefore there is no need to justify the truth in such a situation (Sydney and Shepherd, 104).
Critics point out that poetry is morally wrong and the nurse of abuse that tends to contaminate the society with numerous highly contagious and wishful thoughts. In his defence, Sydney clearly points out that this may not be the case because an individual’s sense of humour may have a tendency to abuse the work of poetry and not the other way round. In his work of art, Apology for Poetry he argues that it is not about the rhyme in the poem but the moral teachings the poem entails because poetry aims at educating and pleasure with the goal of improving the society (Sidney, 47). Another charge that has been brought about concerning poetry is the fact that Plato had banished poetry in order to pave way for the philosophical nature of the ideal commonwealth states (Clarke, 1). Sydney proved that Plato himself was a fan of poetry but the poets who were there during his reign abused it code of moral and ethics. In terms of philosophical approach, Sir Sydney in his defence against poetry claims that poetry is the basic fundamental approach towards philosophy. Both philosophy and poetry operate on the principles of integrity and sound moral judgement (Clarke, 1).
Sir Sydney Phillip throughout his lifetime, he has fought for the expression of one’s feelings through art. Apart from his failure in English politics, his turn of events into poetry was triggered by his immense affection and gratitude and through his poems; one gets an education into the life of poetry and its teachings. Sydney has fought for the good name of poetry over time against the critics of art.
Works Cited
Clarke, Richard (n.d.) “Sir Philip Sydney an Apology for Poetry”. Retrieved December 06, from HYPERLINK “http://www.google.co.ke/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CD4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rlwclarke.net%2Fcourses%2Flits2306%2F2004-2005%2F05SidneyAnApologyForPoetry.pdf&ei=4ajAUMfVCPT34QTB3IDACQ&usg=AFQjCNEBrYtq2SfkNG7zgiI06F-R5b30cg” http://www.google.co.ke/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CD4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rlwclarke.net%2Fcourses%2Flits2306%2F2004-2005%2F05SidneyAnApologyForPoetry.pdf&ei=4ajAUMfVCPT34QTB3IDACQ&usg=AFQjCNEBrYtq2SfkNG7zgiI06F-R5b30cg
Dorsten, Jan A. Van, Dominic Baker-Smith and Arthur F. Kinney. Sir Philip Sidney: 1568 and the creation of a legend. Massachusetts: Brill Archive, 1986.
Sidney, Philip. An Apology For Poetry (Or The Defence Of Poesy): Revised and Expanded Second Edition. Manchester: Manchester University Press ND, 2002.
Sidney, Philip and Geoff Shepherd. An Apology for Poetry: or the Defence of Poesy. Manchester: Manchester University Press ND, 1965.
