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Questions and Answers
In which year was Philip Sidney's 'An Apology for Poetry' first published?
In which year was Philip Sidney's 'An Apology for Poetry' first published?
Who dedicated 'The School of Abuse' to Philip Sidney in 1579?
Who dedicated 'The School of Abuse' to Philip Sidney in 1579?
What are the three general kinds of poetry, according to Philip Sidney?
What are the three general kinds of poetry, according to Philip Sidney?
Who wrote 'A Defence of Poetry' in a Romantic strain?
Who wrote 'A Defence of Poetry' in a Romantic strain?
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What is the main essence of Philip Sidney's defense of poetry?
What is the main essence of Philip Sidney's defense of poetry?
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What is the title of William Stigant's essay in which he writes about Philip Sidney's 'A Defence of Poetry'?
What is the title of William Stigant's essay in which he writes about Philip Sidney's 'A Defence of Poetry'?
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What does Shelley believe poetry does to the mind?
What does Shelley believe poetry does to the mind?
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What is Sidney's view of the poet's role in society?
What is Sidney's view of the poet's role in society?
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Who is the playwright and poet that Philip Sidney addresses in his essay 'An Apology for Poetry'?
Who is the playwright and poet that Philip Sidney addresses in his essay 'An Apology for Poetry'?
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What is the focus of Wordsworth's poetry?
What is the focus of Wordsworth's poetry?
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What is Sidney's notion of 'fore-conceit'?
What is Sidney's notion of 'fore-conceit'?
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What is the central premise of Sidney's Apology?
What is the central premise of Sidney's Apology?
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What is the significance of Sidney's life and writings?
What is the significance of Sidney's life and writings?
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What is the purpose of Sidney's Apology?
What is the purpose of Sidney's Apology?
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What was Sidney's significant contribution to the genre of literary criticism?
What was Sidney's significant contribution to the genre of literary criticism?
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What is the main difference between Sidney's view of poetry and drama?
What is the main difference between Sidney's view of poetry and drama?
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What is the purpose of Sidney's use of metaphor and allegory in his Apology?
What is the purpose of Sidney's use of metaphor and allegory in his Apology?
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What is the significance of Sidney's reverence for the poet as soldier?
What is the significance of Sidney's reverence for the poet as soldier?
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What is the structure of Sidney's Apology?
What is the structure of Sidney's Apology?
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What is the main concern of Sidney's contemporaries in regards to drama?
What is the main concern of Sidney's contemporaries in regards to drama?
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What is the significance of Sidney's use of classical oration in his Apology?
What is the significance of Sidney's use of classical oration in his Apology?
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What literary device does Sidney employ throughout his work?
What literary device does Sidney employ throughout his work?
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Who does Sidney defend against in his work?
Who does Sidney defend against in his work?
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What is the key concept that Sidney attends to in his work?
What is the key concept that Sidney attends to in his work?
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What is the primary function of poetry, according to Sidney?
What is the primary function of poetry, according to Sidney?
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What does Sidney argue that the poet makes no claims of?
What does Sidney argue that the poet makes no claims of?
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What is the central issue that Sidney's work addresses?
What is the central issue that Sidney's work addresses?
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What is the significance of the term 'fictional' in Sidney's work?
What is the significance of the term 'fictional' in Sidney's work?
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What is the primary concern of Sidney's defense of fiction?
What is the primary concern of Sidney's defense of fiction?
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What is the key theme that underlies Sidney's work?
What is the key theme that underlies Sidney's work?
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Study Notes
Philip Sidney's "An Apology for Poetry"
- Written in approximately 1580 and published in 1595, after Sidney's death
- Motivated by Stephen Gosson's attack on the English stage, "The School of Abuse", dedicated to Sidney in 1579
- Integrates classical and Italian precepts on fiction
Defense of Poetry
- Combines the liveliness of history with the ethical focus of philosophy to rouse readers to virtue
- Divides poetry into three kinds:
- Religious, imitating the excellencies of God
- Philosophical
- Imaginative, written by "right poets" who "teach and delight"
Influence
- Influenced subsequent English literary criticism, including Percy Bysshe Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry"
- Shelley's work analyzes the essence of poetry and its existence, development, and operation on the human mind
- Sidney's view of poets as separate from society, creating a separate reality, influenced Romantic notions of perception, imagination, and understanding
Sidney's Notions on Poetry
- Poet as creator, inventing and shaping the materials of nature
- "Fore-conceit", a conception of the work existing in the poet's mind before writing
- Poetry can create things better than nature or forms that never existed in nature
- Poet as mediator between transcendent forms and historical actuality
- Theory of metaphoric language, using painting and portraiture as motifs
- Language use suggestive of semiotics, with an analogy through universal correspondences
Significance
- One of the most important contributions to literary theory during the Renaissance
- Advocates for poetry's place in an aristocratic state, addressing literary and national identity
- Responds to Gosson's attack on imaginative literature
- Defines poetry's nobility as its power to move readers to virtuous action
- Influenced literary criticism, emphasizing poetry's ancient and indispensable place in society, its mimetic nature, and its ethical function
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Description
Explore Philip Sidney's 1595 essay on literary criticism, written in defense of poetry. Understand the historical context and motivations behind this influential work.
