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very much from the art of painting and deals with
nature in such a way that it is able both to delight
and teach by its subject and mode of treatment.

True poetry is further subdivided into several
kinds such as heroic. Iyric, tragic, comic, satiric,
elegiac and pastoral. It is possible to write poetry
without verses. i.e. the emotional and imaginative
treatment of any subject. It is also possible to
compose verse without poetry by consciously employing
rhymes and rhythms without any inspiration, emotion
and imagination. Poetry alone imparts the knowledge
of righteous life and directs people towards virtuous
action When all arts and sciences fail to lead men to
virtuous action. Moral philosophers fail to attract
the public on account of their gravity and subtlety
of division and definition. But historians attract
the public by their concrete examples and prove
superior to philosophers.

Poetry makes men good by pointing out the ills
of the human world, and the punishment meted out to
evil doers. So poetry is superior to philosophy,
history and law by virtue of its moral function. The
Limitations of philosophy and history are easily
pointed out. Philosophy presents thorny arguments and
misty conceptions in dry language. History shows the
triumph of vice over virtue in the real world. So
history is defective from the view of morality and
divinity. Poetry combines the precepts of philosophy
and the example of history and it delights readers by
its emotional and imaginative treatment of all
subjects. But philosophy fails to do imaginative

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treatment of dry and abstract moral principles.

All the abstract virtues are delightfully and
effectively portrayed by the poets through their
characters wisdom and temperance in Ulysses and
Diomedes, Valour in Achillers, friendship in Nisus
and Euryalus. All the abstract vices are also
powerfully presented by the classical poets- anger in
Ajax, the remorse of conscience in Oedipus, the soon
repenting pride of Agamemnon, the violence of
ambition in the two Theban brothers, the sour
sweetness of revenge in Medea and so on.

The poet is superior to the philosopher in his
way of teaching the value of virtuous action
effectively and delightfully as has been done by
Virgil, Xenophon, and Thomas More.

The parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible are
essentially poetical and not at all philosophical or
historical. He presents uncharitableness and humility
in the further of the prodigal son his father.
Aesop’s Fables is more effective than a book of moral
philosophy in teaching the value of virtuous life.
According to Aristotle poetry is more philosophical
than philosophy and more serious than history. Poetry
presents the eternal truths of virtue and v i c e
through imaginary stories about imaginary characters.
So poetry is better than history in its delightful
teaching of moral truths.

Poetry conceals all the natural ugliness of the
real world and presents the pleasing picture of
everything to delight and teach the readers. The

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feigned Cyrus of Xenophon is much better than the
true Cyrus in Justain. Similarly the feigned Aeneas
in Virgil is more attractive than in true Aeneas in
Darius Phrygius. It is impossible for the historian
to present ideal characters of virtue because he is
bound to present the actual details of historical
characters combining their good and bad qualities.
Poetry alones can give a perfect pattern of good and
evil without any confusion.

The art of feigning has to be practised at
times when direct truth fails to impress itself upon
people. The story of Zopyrus cutting his own nose
and ears and going to the Bobylonians in order to
make them change their attitude to his master, King
Darius, cannot be forgotten for its success and ideal
loyalty. The poet has unlimited freedom unlike the
historian. So the poet employs his imagination to
create Hell or Heaven but the historian has to
present the mixed world of good and evil on the
earth.

The historical accounts of tyrants flourishing
and the virtuous people suffering in this imperfect
real speaks only in favour of vice and not of virtue.

Poetry not only imparts the knowledge of good
and evil but it also moves the readers towards
virtuous action. But philosophy fails to do so at
those two levels. The study of poetry is a journey
through a vineyard with the tasting of grapes and
seeing the beautiful scenes of nature. Hearing the
tales of Hercules, Achilles, Cyrus and Aeneas is more

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pleasing and enchanting than following the dry
definitions and thorny explanations of philosophy.
Even the hard-hearted men who refuse to touch the
books of moral philosophy are tempted to read
delightful poems and drawn unconsciously towards the
ideal of goodness. That is the reason why Plato and
Boethius borrowed the garment of poetry to clothe the
mistress of philosophy. Poetry is a medicine like
cherries.

At the time of a crisis Agryppa used his
poetical faculty to draw the attention of all his
angry senators by narrating the story of the
different parts of the body turning against the belly
and accusing it of consuming all the food. But when
the belly was starved the parts of the body also
suffered. Thus Agrippa won the hearts of the senators
once again.

God’s men who commit any evil deed God sends
some of his prophets or angels to warn. It so
happened in the life of David. Nathan, the prophet
appealed to David’s good sense by the art of
feigning. The poet vindicates the value of virtue and
directs all readers to follow the goal of virtuous
action by means of his imaginary stories and
characters. The creator of such poetic art has to be
highly respected and honored, Since the end and aim
of poetry is to move its readers to virtuous action.
Some poems combine various elements of tragedy and
comedy. But all the poems prove to be useful to
mankind because they teach the value of order and
peace, virtue and discipline in directly and

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delightfully.

A passage is produced from Virgil’s First
Eclogue to illustrate the effect of pastoral poetry
on the readers. By the description of beautiful
natural landscape and the narration of the tales of
wolves and sheep the pastoral poet moves the readers
to virtuous action.

By means of elegiac poetry the poet shows the
weakness of mankind and the wretchedness of the
world. The iambic poetry puts villainy to shame. In
the illustrative lines of Horace the aim of satiric
poetry is well explained. Satiric poetry attacks the
follies of people and makes the readers laugh at
them, aiming at reform. Comedy is an imitation of
life, Remarked Aristotle the comic writer exposes
the common errors of life in the most ridiculous and
scornful way and aims at reformation of mankind.
Just like geometry and arithmetic that deal with
opposites, comic poetry shows both the filthiness of
evil and the beauty of virtue.

The characters of Terence’s comedies illustrate
all kinds of human qualities – niggardly Demea,
crafty Davus, flattering Gnatho and bragging Thraso.
On seeing the evil qualities portrayed ridiculously
and evil doers undergoing punishment the readers as
well as the audience of the comedies think about them
and decide not to follow them.

Seneca’s Oedipus by showing all the tyrannical
measures of the tyrants as tragic poetry produces the
effects of admiration and commiseration on the

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readers. Plutarch presented an abominable tyrant,
Alexander Phereus as a subject of tragedy. The
choice of a tyrant as a subject to tragedy is always
harmful and so only excellent qualities of life
should be treated in the art of poetry.

Lyrical poetry exalts virtuous actions and
sings the glory of God. Sidney was very much moved
by the ballad of Chevy Chase : if small things were
highly praised by Pindar and other Greek poets it was
due to the attitude of the Greeks. Therefore the
poets should not be blamed for praising trivial
things : the people were responsible for such things.

The heroic poetry of classical poets focuses on
heroes like Achilles, Cyrus, Aeneas, Turnus, Tydeus
and Rinaldo. The heroes exhibit their heroic
qualities on different occasions and conduct
themselves heroically so that the readers are
inspired to emulate them in life. By watching the
heroism of many heroes in heroic poetry the readers
are induced to follow their way of life. Those who
condemn poetry are to be dispraised. They neglect a
means for moving men and women to virtuous action.

Sidney sums up all the vital ideas connected
with the value of poetry to humanity. He stresses the
antiquity, universality, morality and dignity of
poetry.

10.4 Sidney’s reply to the charges against Poetry

Sidney faces the charges of puritan critics
like Stephen Grosson against poetry. T h o s e w h o

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without understanding poetry, praise other subjects
and arts are really foolish and try to worship their
folly. Erasums and Agrippa did not realize the
superiority of poetry. Puritan critics attacked
poetry, but the poets also not attack anybody.

It is possible to write poetry without rhyming
or following any verse pattern. Similarly it is
possible to write verses without any poetry in them.
In some cases both poetry and verse go together and
such poetical works cannot be blamed by anybody.

Rhyming and other devices of verse are meant to
fix the words and phrases, ideas and thoughts in the
memory of the readers. So the readers of Virgil,
Horace, and Cato remember some of their lines even
after many years by recalling the music of the verse
patterns.

The first charge is that a man could spend his
time in pursuing many fruitful arts if he ignores
that art of poetry. In other words the study of
poetry is a waste of time.

Secondly, poetry is the mother of lies. Thirdly
it is the nurse of abuse. Chaucer himself has said
that poetry softened the marital velour of the
soldiers and made them sleep in idleness. So the
puritan critics pointed out that the study of poetry
demoralized and debilitated strong people.

No learning in the world is so powerful as
poetry in its power of moving men to virtuous action.
According to Sidney, the study of poetry moralizes

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and refines the animal and devilish nature of the
people. The poets deal with universal and eternal
truths not affirmatively but allegorically in order
to perfect the imperfect world. They give imaginary
names and details and make men better. They do not
lie like astronomers, historians lawyers and so on.
They are not concerned with the material facts and
figures of this world. Their aim is to present the
eternal world and perfect the perfectible human
beings of the imperfect real world. Therefore they
are not liars.

If the divine art of poetry is abused by the

devilish with of some poets. Poetry is not

responsible for it and is not to be blamed. It is

only the poet who abuses the divine art of poetry

that deserves censure. Sidney explains this fact by

the illustration of a sword being used for the wrong

purpose. If a sword is used to kill a father, the

sword should not be blamed for the unfilial act.

It is the misuse of the sword that is to be
blamed. Similarly there is a natural tendency with
some witty men to abuse even the holy name of God and
write hereby about Him. Therefore only the poets who
abuse their wits by treating of lust, vanity and
scurrility are to be blamed and not the divine art of
poetry.

The great warriors and soldiers used to carry
volumes of poetry inspire them with the ideals of
courage, truth and strength. So poetry did not
debilitate the soldiers. In fact Alexander the Great

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preferred the dead poet Homer to the living
philosopher, Aristotle because the portrait of
Achilles in Homer’s llaid was more inspiring and real
than Aristotle’s definition of fortitude. The art of
poetry gives many other examples of the courageous
and mighty heroes.

Sidney could not understand the reason for
Plato’s banishment of poetry from his ideal
commonwealth because Plato’s works are essentially
poetical. Examples of poets who succeeded even in
reforming some tyrant kings. He also points out that
many philosophers were banished from their countries.
The Athenians, who disliked philosophers saved their
own lives by quoting a few lines of Euripides before
the Syracusans. The poets, Simonomides and Pindar,
succeeded in changing Hiero, the worst tyrant in to a
just king. According to a common story, even Plato
was sold as a slave by Dionysius the tyrant. So
Sidney makes it clear that philosophy had drawn its
mysterious riddles from the world of poetry but it
failed to grateful to be poetry. On the whole,
philosophy and philosophers cannot excel poetry and
poets.

According to Sidney’s argument, Plato allowed
emotional beings, namely women, into his ideal
commonwealth and so he should not condemn the
emotions of poetry. Regarding the treatment of many
baser gods in some poetry, Sidney answers that the
theology of that time had been responsible for it.
But when compared with the atheism resulting from
philosophical argument, the superstition of poetry is

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nothing.

Plato only banished the poets who abused their
wits and dealt with lust, vanity and scurrility. But
he did not banish poetry. In fact Plato was a patron
of right poetry and so he condemned the wrong poetry
of the poets who abused their wits.

Laelius, the Roman Socrates, was a poet.
Alexander, Caesar and Scipio were admirers of poetry.
Therefore it was improper to banish poetry from his
ideal Republic. In fact poetry contributes much to
the ideal Republic of Plato. Thus the attack on
poetry when carefully analyzed turns out to be an
appeal for its admiration.

Sidney makes it clear that poetry is an art,
not of lies but of true doctrine, not of
effeminateness but of a notable stirring of courage,
not of arousing man’s wit but of strengthening it; In
fact poetry is not banished but honored by Plato.
Sidney does not understand the indifference of
England towards poetry because poetry has contributed
substantially to the training as English minds and
the making of many other branches of knowledge.

The art of poetry has been admired by many
kings, captains and generals from the earliest times
in several countries. But puritan critics like
Stephen Gosson attacked poetry which prospered more
in wartime than in the peaceful days of Elizabethan
England.

Sidney dislikes the idea of mixing hornpipes

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and funerals in the tragic-comedy of contemporary
times. He denounces tragic-comedy as a mongrel. He
explains the difference between delight and laughter
with a number of examples. A fair woman delights a
man but people laugh at mad clowns. In short people
delight in good chances but laugh at mischance.
Delight is the result of seeing pleasant scenes and
situations. But laughter is born of deformities and
abnormalities.

It is improper to laugh at a beggar and a
stranger, Sidney condemns the meaningless and
scornful laughter of farcical comedy but encourages
the delightful the teaching of a comedy without any
scorn. The English Comedy of Sidney’s days was based
on the false hypothesis of making people laugh at
everything and offending everybody. Lyrical poetry is
a blessing of God. It is also devoted to the praise
of immortal beauty and goodness of God. L o v e i s
treated as a subject of poetry. It is elevated to the
noble height of sacrifice or degraded as the baser
passion of lust.

Sometimes the words used in poetry are richly
appareled. But at time the words are less colorful
and suggestive as in some verses of conscious
composition.

Some writers use words profusely to produce a
rhetorical effect. A mere string of words and phrases
cannot make good poetry. In fact true poetry lies in
sincerity of expression rather than in words and
phrases, rhymes and rhymes and rhythms. Sidney

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inquires into the nature of diction in poetry. One of
the essential elements of poetry is effective
diction. The similes drawn from diverse sources are
intended more to explain the meaning of the subject
than to distract the readers.

Men of little learning impress the audience by
their eloquence but professors of wide learning fail
to do so. Similarly minor poets abuse their wit to
please the large public but great poets maintain
their dignity and preserve the purity of poetic art.
Sidney expects words and idea to be properly used
without any abuse as in oratory and baser poetry.
Good poets know how to choose noble subjects and
better expressions in order to make their poetry
eternal. The poets have to chose the best words from
the vernacular language, apply the grammatical
principles and put them in the best order. English is
the best suited for the art of poetry among the
European languages.

Sidney refers to two kinds of versification
ancient and modern. The ancients marked the quantity
of each syllable but the moderns considered the
accent. The language of the English, compared and
contrasted with other European languages, has certain
advantages in making rhymes and none of the defects
of other languages. Sidney praises the unique of the
English language allowing all kind of rhyme the male,
the female and the sorucciola. He also points out the
limitation of Latin, French and Italian.

Sidney sums up, at the end, all the merits of

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poetry, its freedom from defects and its sway over
all people,art and sciences. Since poetry imparts
virtuous knowledge and moves man and women to
virtuous action it is more useful and valuable than
other arts and sciences to mankind. Those who love
poetry, honor poets and serve poetry are, also to be
honored. They grow rich, fair and wise. They are to
be ranked with the souls of Dante’s Beatrice and
Virgil’s Anchises.

If any one has no power to admire the vault of
poetry, he cannot hear its celestial music and
understand its divine message. If any one
underestimates poetry, he becomes as foolish as King
Midas. On the whole, poetry has the power to teach
the valuable principles of life delightfully.

10.5 The Nature and Function of poetry:

Sidney defends the art of poetry by emphasizing
the antiquity, universality, dignity and utility of
poetry. He refers to the definitions of poetry by
classical writers of the past and establishes the
superiority of poetry over philosophy, History and
the other arts and the sciences. He states that
poetry teaches by giving pleasant and unpleasant
pictures of virtue or vice, and making its readers
move towards virtuous action.

Sidney illustrated the poetry by referring to
the earliest writings in many languages and noting
the fact that earliest of philosophers and historians
wrote their works either in verse or in a poetical
manner. he explains the universality of poetry by

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saying that almost in all the countries of the world
the earliest writers have been poets. After proving
the antiquity and universality of Poetry, Sidney draw
on the classical writings to explain the nature and
function of Poetry.

The Roman word ‘vates’ suggest the prophetic
nature of Poetry. The Greek word ‘Poiein’ denotes the
creative power of the poet. The Delphic Oracles and
Sibylla’s prophecies were delivered in verses. The
pets have the power to penetrate the hidden reality
and discern the future of the world. Similarly the
poets perfect the imperfect real world by means of
the imagination and intuition displayed in their
poetical works. Both the prophetic nature and the
creative power of the poets definitely differentiate
them from other artists and associate them with God
and the Church.

Sidney uses Plato’s poetic theory of
inspiration and Aristotle’s poetic theory of
imitation to explain the nature and Function of
Poetry. According to Plato the poets are inspired by
their vision of god and the ideal world of heaven.
Hence they build up the ideal world in their works.
On the other hand, Aristotle defines Poetry as an art
of imitation. He explains how the poets imitate the
actual life by giving vivid accounts of the real
world with a view to delight and teach the readers.
Horace also defines the art of Poetry and admires it
for its speaking pictures and delightful teaching.

After explaining the meaning and nature of

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Poetry in the light of classical achievements, Sidney
describes three kinds of Poetry as religious poetry
illustrated by David’s psalms, S o l o m o n ’ s S o n g o f
songs and the Hymns of Moses and Deborah,
philosophical poetry as illustrated by the moral
works of Tyrtaeus, Phocylides and Cato, and true
poetry, further subdivided in to several kinds such
as heroic, lyric, tragic, comic, satiric, iambic,
elegiac pastoral.
10.6 Let us Sum Up

The main ideas in the Apology for poetry are
not peculiar to Sidney though the arrangement of the
argument is his own. It is a product of his own
intelligence, his own intellectual milieu and its
critical inheritance.

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10.7 Lesson – End Activities:

1. How does Sidney reply Gosson’s charges against
poetry?

2. What is Sidney’s estimate of contemporary
English poetry and drama?

3. What according to Sidney is the nature and
function of poetry?

10.8 References

Shepherd, Geoffrey An Apology for Poetry, London,
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1964.

Shuck Burgh, Evlyn S. An Apology for Poetry.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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