Sir Philip Sidney's Defence Of Poetry

Sidney 's Defence of poetry is the earliest attempt to deal with the poetic art, practically and not theoretically. His judgment are based on contemporary literature and show ample good sense and sound scholarship. It is not merely empty, abstract theorizing; apart from the unities, and his dislike of tragi – comedy, his judgment are not governed, to any great extent, by rules and theories. His ultimate test of a practical kind. His treaties is the key to an understanding of Elizabethan poetry and poetic theory. Sidney 's practical criticism is constructive and his work contributes a great deal to a better understanding of literary values. He calls attention to literary excellences of more than one kind. He has enthusiasm for Biblical

Four Specific Charges of Poetry Poetry is useless and so is a waste of time. "There are other more fruitful knowledge, a man may better spend his time in them than in poetry". To this charge, Sidney replies that poetry is conductive to virtuous action, and he has amply demonstrated this in the foregoing parts of his defence. Poetry is" the mother of lies". To this Sidney replies that the poet "nothing affirms and, therefore, he never lie", for to lie is to affirm what is not true. The Historian can lie for he affirms facts, but not the poet for he does not deal with what is, but with what should be or should not be. He offers not fact but fiction, yet fiction embodying truths of an ideal

Moreover, if this is a fault it is a fault common to learning and not to poetry alone. On this ground all books should be denounced. As a matter of fact, poetry is freer from this fault than other branches of knowledge for poetry has always been used to move men to heroic action. Sidney gives numerous examples from literature and history to prove the