A commanding literary figure of the eighteenth
century, Sir Philip Sydney wrote 'An Apology for Poetry' in reaction against
the attacks made on poetry by a puritan, Stephen Gossen. Sydney logically
argued that poetry is a superior and easy way of conveying the message and
meaning. To Sydney, poetry teaches as well as a source of delight.
He thinks that poetic justice is possible in the
poet's world where good is rewarded and wicked people are punished. There are
four main grounds on which Sydney keeps poetry's superiority over philosophy
and history. Those four grounds are also considered as the answers to Stephen
Gossen's charges make on poetry.
He believes that poetry is the source of
knowledge and a civilizing force, for Sidney, It is not the waste of time
neither it is useless and nor it is the nurse of abuse, but Sidney says that no
learning is so good as that which teaches and moves to virtue and that nothing
can both teach and amuse so much as poetry does. In od societies, poetry was
the main source of education, and it helps a lot in developing the society as
well. He remembers the ancient Greek society that respected poets.
He comes up with a more rational answer against
the second charge, and answers that the poet does not lie because he never
affirms that his fiction is true and can never lie. Poets are always universal
and general in his message, that’s why poetry is not a waste of time.
Sidney rejects the third charge in a sound
manner that poetry is the source of abuse. To him, it is people who abuse
poetry, not the vice- versa. Poetry is above philosophy and history in one way
or another because poetry helps to maintain morality and peace by avoiding
violence and bloodsheds depicted in history. Moreover, it brings light to
knowledge.
He argued that Plato banished poets from his
ideal land, not poetry. He himself was not free from poetically, which we can
find in his dialogues Plato never rejected all the poetry, but he believes that
poetry must be didactic, should act as moral for children. Furthermore,
he added that poetry is superior over both philosophy and history because
poetry is the first light-giver to ignorance, it nourished before any other art
or science. Showing the superiority of poetry to history and philosophy Sidney
comparing a philosopher and teachers in these words; that “while the
philosopher teaches by precept alone and the historian by example alone, the
poet conduces most to virtue because he employs both precept and
example”. He believes that a philosopher can teaches, but without clarity
or beauty of style, the bare principles of morality. Furthermore, a historian
describes past events with his experience but, being tied down to what actually
happened, that is, to the particular truth of things and not to general
possibilities. The poet alone accomplishes this duel task.
