Sidney's Defense of Poetry

An Apology for Poetry

• Written by Philip Sidney in approximately 1580, published in 1595 after his death
• Motivated by Stephen Gosson's attack on the English stage and general objections to poetry, including those of Plato

Defense of Poetry

• Poetry combines the liveliness of history with the ethical focus of philosophy, making it more effective than either history or philosophy in rousing readers to virtue
• There are three general kinds of poetry: religious, philosophical, and imaginative, with the last being written by "right poets" who "teach and delight"

Influence on Literary Criticism

• Influenced subsequent history of English literary criticism, including Percy Bysshe Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry"
• Shelley's work analyzes the inner essence of poetry and its development from and operation on the mind of man

View of Poetry and Poets

• Poetry creates a separate reality, and the poet is not tied to any subjection
• Poetry is equivalent to "skill", a profession to be learned or developed, and nature is the objective, empirical world
• The poet can invent, and thus in effect grows another nature, making things either better than nature or quite anew

Notion of "Fore-Conceit" and Catharsis

• A conception of the work must exist in the poet's mind before it is written
• Poetry is capable of "making things either better than Nature bringeth forth, or, quite anew, forms such as never were in Nature"
• The poet's mediating role between transcendent forms and historical actuality corresponds to the Neoplatonic doctrine of emanation

Theory of Metaphoric Language

• Painting or "portraiture" is a recurring motif in Apology, applying language use in a way suggestive of modern literary theory as semiotics
• Poetry is an art of imitation, representing, counterfeiting, or figuring forth, not unlike a "speaking picture"

Significance and Legacy

• An Apology for Poetry is one of the most important contributions to literary theory written in English during the Renaissance
• Advocates a place for poetry within the framework of an aristocratic state, while showing concern for both literary and national identity
• Influenced the development of literary criticism and the role of poets in society

Literary Style and Method

• Employs forensic rhetoric to make the argument that poetry conveys a separate reality, has a long and venerable history, and does not lie
• Uses classical oration, including exordium and peroratio, to build his argument
• Incorporates metaphor and allegory, such as the horsemanship imagery, to conceal and reveal his position