AN APOLOGY FOR POETRY

PRESENTED BY,
SYAMILY C.S
PHILIP SIDNEY(1554- 1585)
Sidney’s ‘Apology for Poetry’ is considered
the best work that opened the age of
literary criticism in England

It was written in 1585 and published

after his death in 1595.
It is said to be the first important
critical text in the English literary
criticism.
Sidney’s ‘Apology for Poetry’ deals with two ideas

* Poetry is of divine origin

* There is social utility for poetry

The first section is all about praise of poetry

*It is a cradle of civilization

*It is a channel of divine power
*Poetry can teach and delight
*It can surpass the virtue of history and philosophy
Sidney’s arguments in defense of poetry

It is a cradle of civilization

• Poetry is the first light giver to ignorance that

flourished before any other art or science
• The earliest philosophers and historians who were
poets.
• The first law, Greek/Roman philosophers are
written in verse
It is a channel of divine power

• Poetry is divine and as well as prophetic

•In the Holy Bible, for praising God and
Solomon use verses
• The new idea created by poet can
withstand the test of time and according to
Sidney in essence poetry is divine
POETRY CAN TEACH AND DELIGHT

•The end of poetry is to teach and please ,

hence it is usable to society.
• The imitations of poetry are able to delight
and teach ; they provides perfect in disputable
examples of good and bad.
• Poetry inspires every individual to discard the
vices of the villains and imitate the noble and
virtuous action of heroes.
Poetry can surpass the virtues of history and
philosophy

•Poetry unites universal truth of philosophy with concrete

examples of history.

•Philosophy can only produce concrete universal truth through

examples. They don’t have the power to implant themselves in our
memory and judgment.

• history is bound to recount a particular event just as it was ,

even if that event debases virtue and encourages vices.

• poet is free to alter the particular event so as to a more

universally expected story.
In second section Sidney refute four arguments
leveled against poetry made by Stephen Gossan in his
essay ‘T he School of Abuse’

Arguments against poetry

• Poetry is unprofitable
•Poetry is the mother of lie
• poetry leads to sinful behavior
• Plato kicked the poets out of his republic
Poetry is unprofitable , there are many better ways
to spend our time

• there is no other branches of learning more fruitful

than poetry
• poetry is the most fruitful of all knowledge and it has
the power to teach and please and also moves its
readers to virtuous action.
• poetry is far better and effective than history and
philosophy.
Poetry is the mother of lie

• poetry does not affirm anything as truth

• poets never lie , for they never claim

their poem to be the truth

• in poetry lies are not deliberately stated

, therefore the poet can not be accused
of lying
POETRY LEADS TO SINFUL BEHAVIOR

•Poetry in itself is noble and that it cannot be the cause

of any moral corruption

• poetry aims at inspiring and elevating souls

• it is the abuse of poetry , not poetry itself that leads to

sin
PLATO KICKED THE POETS FROM HIS REPUBLIC

•Sidney does not agree with the statement at all

• Plato had banished ludicrous poets and not poetry itself

• Plato himself drew much genuine knowledge from poetry and was
highly poetical in his writings

• Plato himself in his work ‘ion’, affirms that poets speak by divine
inspiration
What Sidney maintains in his argument is
that poetry has a universal appeal arising
from the aesthetic appeal of its words and
phrases. Sidney is against the degradation
of poetry ; for poetry is instead “to
delight and instruct” the readers. Sidney
concludes by putting a curse on all poet
haters may they never win love for want of
a sonnet ; may they be forgotten for want
of an epitaph.