World of ideas has eternal and immutable patterns, spiritual and abstract in their nature and all things of the sensory world is fashioned after and imitation of it. Sidney also stresses that the poet goeth hand in hand with nature, not enclosed within the narrow warrant of her gifts, but freely ranging within the zodiac of his own wit macaulay 11. He also examines the ways in which poetry differs from other kinds of artistic activity, and the role and significance of metre as an essential and significant part of a poem. Even a cursory view at sidneys apology may prove that sidney has an exalted conception of the nature and function of poetry. Nature and function of poetry according to william. Well conclude this pick of the best sir philip sidney poems with three poems that are not from astrophil and stella. A in english literature in the universities of pakistan. He agrees with plato and says that poetry is imitation like any other art. That is, the old testament and the new testament are poetry. Sidney explicitly affirms plato and aristotles understanding of poetry as mimesis. Aristotle however was not responsible for some of the doctrines then fathered upon him. Sidneys defense of poesy also known as an apology for poetry was a response to gosson.
Please discuss sidneys views on the nature of poetry in. It was written in approximately 1580 and first published in 1595, after his death. Poetry, prose and drama are the three major forms of literature. Sidney, like shelley and wordsworth, sees the poet as being separate from society. His work,an apology for poetry is prescribed for the students of m. Although it reflects sidney s protestantism, it is nevertheless a worldly work. If a critic, in despair of giving a serious definition of poetry, should be satisfied with saying that poetry is metrical discourse, he would no doubt be giving an inadequate account of the matter, yet not one of which he need be ashamed or which he should regard as superficial.
Superiority of poetry over philosophy and history by. Tt is a familiar observation that doctrines ostensiblyi based upon aristotles poetics hampered art in an age when poetic form tended to formalism. The defence of poetry is undoubtedly the most important critical treatise on poetry written by an englishman during the elizabethan period. Poetry is the moral guide that imparts moral lessons but in sugarcoated form so that. Sidney considers the prophetic latin vates and creative greek poieinto make functions of the poet and of poetry. This poem is a sonnet and, whats more, an example of the english, or shakespearean, sonnet form but not one taken from sidneys sonnet sequence. His the defence of poesy was originally published under two different titles, the defence of poesie and an apologie for poetrie. An ecocritical approach to modern poetry from the romantic age to the ecological age deuk ju jeon, university of nebraska lincoln. Imitation does not mean mere copying or a reproduction of facts. Sidney apparently acknowledges that a poet uses all the his resources to create an art and in some sense a liar because they sometimes make things up. The defence of poesy by sir philip sidney poetry foundation.
Plato as a dualist divides reality into two world world of ideas and world of senses. Sidney begins his robust defence by arguing therefore that there is something educational in the nature of poetry that allows it to develop humans, as has been the case in history. How does aristotle differ from plato in his theory of. He says that the term function refers to what a thing ought to do rather than what it does or has done. To, sidney, poetry is an art of imitation for specific purpose, it is imitated to teach and delight. The defense of poesy by philip sidneythus, with child to speak, and helpless. Poetry is the moral guide that imparts moral lessons but in sugarcoated form so that the learning becomes implied and plausible. The romantic notion, as seen in wordsworth, is that poetry privileges perception, imagination and modes of understanding.
It was englands first philosophical defense in which he describes poetry s ancient and indispensable place in society, its mimetic nature, and its ethical function harvey. Sir philip sidney and the poetics of protestantism. The poet is carried forward and upward by the vigour of his own invention and imagination, in fact, build up another nature. First of all, sidney disposes of the objection raised. Examine in detail the main ideas in sidneys an apology. The purpose of poetry, according to philip sidney as stated in his defense for poesie, is for poetry to teach and to delight. Sidney describes poetry as creating a separate reality. The poet, like other men learning, imitates the objects of nature.
For sidney, the epistemological function of poetry is not just one facet, but is. He argues that the critics of poetry are extremely. Sidney began writing poetry in 1578, and his writing career only lasted 78 years. The elements and function of poetry academy of american. Many of sidney s finest poems are to be found in his long sonnet sequence. The door by which sometimes comes forth her grace red porphyr is, which lock of pearl makes sure. The best poems of philip sidney selected by dr oliver tearle sir philip sidney 155486 was one of the finest poets of the english renaissance and a pioneer of the sonnet form and english love poetry.
By using what is necessary for his definition and avoiding the pitfalls implicit in the more ambitious claims for poetry, sidney proceeds in an evernarrowing arc until he arrives at the single point of his own definition. Philip sidney and an apology for poetry english in paris. Because the poet is subject to this divine madness, instead of. The analysis of this definition gives us the sense that the function of poetry is to ennoble the reader.
The poet, says sidney, imitates the works of nature, as do other artists and men of learning. Her world is brazen, the poets only deliver a golden. Both plato and aristotle saw in mimesis the representation of nature, including human nature, as reflected in the dramas of the period. It means a representing or transmuting of the real. Literary criticism of sir philip sidney literary theory. Sidney s defense was a significant contribution to the genre of literary criticism. Sonnet ix from sidney s astrophil and stella queen virtues court, which some call stellas face, prepard by nature s choicest furniture, hath his front built of alabaster pure. The nature and function of poetry poetry is an art of imitation and its chief function is to teach and delight. The greek word for poet literally means maker, and sidney uses the concept of the poet maker to set poets above writers of other genres. Only the poet, distaining to the tied to any such subjection, lifted up with the vigour of his own invention, doth grown in effect another nature, in making things either better than nature bringeth fort, or, quite anew, forms such as never were in nature 8. He begins by emphasizing the difference between prose and poetry. But the poet, while imitating nature, transcends it and builds a new nature.
In this study of the important elizabethan writer and critic, sir philip sidney, professor weiner examines the impact of the reformation on traditional medieval and humanist ideas of the nature and function of poetry, taking sidney as an exemplar of the transformation of both theory and practice that occurred. In the rest of the section, sidney simply says that, according to him, there are three kinds of poetry. Philip sidney defends poetry in his essay apology for poetry from the accusations made by stephen gosson in his school of abuse dedicated to him. Sydney rejected the claims made by him and defended poetry by the discussing the questions of the function of poetry, the nature of imitation and concept of nature with the help from literary critics like aristotle, horace and boccaccio. It is this setting limits to the nature and function of poetry which may account for. Sidneys first point that he writes in poetrys defence is one in which he discusses the nature of poetry. Plato wrote about mimesis in both ion and the republic books ii, iii, and x. There are a lot of theorists and poets who have defended the dignity and honor of poetry. Poetry is superior to both philosophy and history so far as teaching virtue and urging human beings to live virtuously, the philosopher teaches only by precept, and the. Clvssical theory of the function of poetry 3 aristotle and plato 3 the roman period 11 ii. His poems are full of moral lessons, philosophical truths about life and religion packaged with delight. Sidney and shelley perceived the moral function of poetry.
Ecocritical theory investigates the relationship between human activities and the natural world, particularly in terms of the influence of each upon the other. Poetry is superior to both philosophy and history so far as teaching virtue and urging human beings to live virtuously. He wraps up his final defense with a scathing indictment against the detractors of poetry referring to them as poet apes and i had the compulsion to raise my fist in the. Toward the beginning of the apologie, sidney observes that poetry has fallen from its status as the highest estimation of learning. Sidney questions the role of poetry in england, asking whether or not english poetry can become a viable form language, showing the juxtaposition between poetry and drama. Sidney concludes this section with an examination of poetry s imitative power and its ability to improve upon nature and reality. This type of poetry has value in the way that it praises virtues and is.
Apology for poetry sir philip sidney ummerooman yaqoob 2. In the history of western literature,the existence of poetry and poets have been questioned and resisted fiercely. Poetry, according to sidney, is an art of imitation, a representing, counterfeiting, or figuring forth. He calls special attention to the third class of poets, for these be they that, as the first and most noble sort may justly be termed vates. Stephen gosson dedicated his work, school of abuse, to sidney. It raises issues such as the value and function of poetry, the nature of imitation, and the concept of nature which were to concern literary. Then sidney proceeds to elaborate the view that poetry is an imitation. According to him, poetry is simply a superior means of communication and its value depends on what is communicated. The neociassical qualification of the classical position 17 sidney, jonson, milton 17 the hiamanists 28 iii. In ion, he states that poetry is the art of divine madness, or inspiration.
Sir philip sidney was born on the 30th november 1554 in the historic place of penshurt, in kent. Sir philip sidney sir philip sidney born november 30, 1554,kent, englanddied october 17, 1586,arnhem, netherlands, elizabethan courtier, statesman, soldier, poet, andpatron of scholars andpoets, considered the ideal gentleman of his day. All philosophers natural and moral follow nature, but only the poet, disdaining to be tied to any such subjection, lifted up with the vigor of his own invention, does grow in effect into another nature, in making things either better than nature brings forth, or, quite anew, forms such as never were in nature. Literature frenzy the defense of poesy by philip sidney. Coleridge poses numerous questions regarding the nature and function of poetry and then answers them. The nature and social functions of poeticsanalysis of. He, before talking about what poetry should do, traces its role from ancient societies till date. The social function of poetry english literature essay. The best sir philip sidney poems everyone should read. He discusses the superiority of poetry over philosophy and history in a skilful manner.
Astrophil and stella sonnet ix british literature wiki. According to william wordsworth, the function of poetry is to please, move, and transport by the three fusing to an aesthetic pleasure characterized by moral elevation a poet, on the other hand, is a man like other men speaking for other men. In the piece, gosson criticizes the poet, calling them all fathers of lies, pipes of vanities and schooles of abuse. Nature never set forth the earth in so rich a tapestry as different poets. Aristotle differs with plato on the pragmatic value of poetry. They most properly do imitate to teach and delight, and to imitate borrow nothing. Sidney does not shy away from the positions of poetry s opponents. The poet either makes things better than those which exist in nature, or makes absolutely new. Please discuss sidneys views on the nature of poetry in defence of. In 1579, stephen gosson, a puritan minister attacked poetry in the school of abuse. It is generally believed that he was at least partly motivated by stephen gosson, a former playwright who dedicated his attack on the english stage, the school of abuse, to sidney in.
The nature and function of poetry poetry is an art of imitation and its chief functionis to. Also, the psalms of david are very poetic in nature. It is to teach a virtue to the reader while also entertaining them. Sidneys defense of poesy british literature wiki wordpress at ud. However, in his book poetics, aristotle discusses the nature of poetry. Indeed, he even agrees with some of their claims that some poetry is offensive, but he is quick to note that when a poem offends a readers sensibilities, that offense is a function of the inept poet and not the poem itself. Wordsworths poems confirm here his own concept of the function of poetry. Thus it will be shown that sid neys definition of poetry is not only a description of its na ture and function, but, in the older sense of the word, a setting of boundaries, a delimiting.
Philip sidney,the poet as well as theorist during english renaissance,probed into the nature and social functions of poetry in his outstanding work the defence of poesie. The romantic divergence 40 transition to romantic theory ko the poet and nature 52 iv. Doc sidney, shelley and the moral function of poetry. Literary criticism of sir philip sidney literary theory and criticism. Nature and function of poetry, according to william wordsworth. Philip sidney in his apology for poetry reacts against the attacks made on poetry by the puritan, stephen gosson. An apology for poetry or, the defence of poesy is a work of literary criticism by elizabethan poet philip sidney. Sidneys argument attempts to raise poetry into the higher arts and disprove the. There, gosson makes some objections against poetry. It is a thorough and vigorous argument written by a practitioner of the art, who also had a strong education in the classics.
As men and women gradually learned, through the passing ages, to write down. According to sidney what is the purpose of poesy answers. Drawing on an extraordinary range of classical and continental texts, sidney. Even a cursory view at sidney s apology may prove that sidney has an exalted conception of the nature and function of poetry. It is like the torch that leads its readers on the dark path. Eliot in his critical essay the social function of poetry aims to highlight the function of poetry in a society. Drawing upon the greek literature, he puts forward cogent arguments about the nature of poetry. Wordsworth seeks to go back to nature for moments recollected in tranquility. So much then for aristotles answer to plato on the nature and function of poetry. Criticism an apology for poetry by sir philip sidney.