Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586)
Author of A Defence of Poetry
About the Author
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Works by Sir Philip Sidney
Selected Writings: Astrophil and Stella, the Defense of Poesy and Miscellanious Poems (Fyfield Books) (1987) 23 copies
Delphi Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney (Illustrated) (Delphi Poets Series Book 35) (2013) 7 copies
The defense of poesie. Political discourses. Correspondence. Translations / Sir Philip Sidney ; ed. by Albert… (1923) — Author — 4 copies
Certaine sonets 2 copies
Sir Philip Sydney's Defence of poetry. : And, observations on poetry and eloquence, from the discoveries of Ben Jonson (2010) 2 copies
The lad Philisides : being a selection of Songs, Pastoral, Eclogues & Elegies from The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia… (1988) 2 copies
Astrophel & Stella 1 copy
Sir Philip Sydney's Defence of Poetry. And, Observations on Poetry and Eloquence, From the Discoveries of Ben Jonson (2018) 1 copy
Ye Goatherd Gods {poem} 1 copy
Sir Philip Sidney - The Psalms of David: “...the poet, he nothing affirmeth, and therefore never lieth” (2018) 1 copy
Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella Und Defence of Poesie: Nach Den Altesten Ausgaben Mit Einer Einleitung Uber… (2017) 1 copy
The Works in Verse and Prose Complete of the Right Honourable Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke ...: The Prose: Life of Sir… (2016) 1 copy
A concordance to the sonnet sequence of Daniel, Drayton, Shakespeare, Sidney, and Spenser (1969) — Contributor — 1 copy
Associated Works
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,047 copies
English Renaissance Poetry: A Collection of Shorter Poems from Skelton to Jonson (1963) — Contributor — 157 copies
Sidney's 'The Defence of Poesy' and Selected Renaissance Literary Criticism (Penguin Classics) (2004) — Contributor — 106 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 3: Intelligent Family Living (1967) — Contributor — 33 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1554-11-30
- Date of death
- 1586-10-17
- Burial location
- St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England, UK
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Penshurst, Kent, England
- Place of death
- Arnhem, Gelderland, the Netherlands
- Education
- Oxford University(Christ Church)
Shrewsbury School - Occupations
- courtier
politician
soldier
poet - Relationships
- Herbert, Mary Sidney (sister)
Dudley, Robert (uncle)
Greville, Fulke (friend)
Wroth, Mary (niece) - Short biography
- Sir Philip Sidney was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and his wife Lady Mary Dudley, the sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, longtime favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. He was close to his own younger sister, Mary Sidney, who became Countess of Pembroke, and he dedicated his 1580 pastoral romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia -- also known as The Acadia -- to her. His other works included a sonnet sequence, Astrophel and Stella, and a treatise called The Defence of Poesy (also known as The Defence of Poesie or An Apology for Poetrie). In 1583, he was knighted, and he married Frances Walsingham, daughter of the queen's spymaster and Secretary of State, Sir Francis Walsingham. Sir Philip Sidney was considered one of the Elizabethan Age's most romantic and noble figures. Well-known during his life for his poetry and gallantry as a courtier and soldier, he became even more famous after his death in the Battle of Zutphen at age 31.
Members
Reviews
A Defence of Poetry by Sir Philip Sidney
It's not true that poetry better than philosophy.
I've been looking forward to reading this work for years after dropping it once due to the complexity of the prose that made it too challenging for good old me. Ironically I am dropping it once again because I found the text subpar in terms of content and style, and after reading a variety of works written by pastoral authors I can assert that this novel is nothing more than a product of the Elizabethan society under the guise of a bucolic romance, a wannabe Sannazaro's Arcadia loaded with petty moralism and anecdotes about virtue and sin all too divorced from the real intent of the pastoral genre. Despite the impressive length of his work, Sidney drops the facade quite early in the novel and has no qualms about slapping 17th century quirks and literary tropes in his romance, which leaves us with a disappointing pseudo-historical Renaissance soap opera where respecting the importance of historical accuracy doesn't even cross the mind of the author. If this novel was written solely for entertainment purposes, it failed to deliver even that.… (more)
1 
Vertumnus | 9 other reviews | Jun 20, 2022 |
Vertumnus | 9 other reviews | Jun 20, 2022 | 
While the Defence of Poesy is still required reading for most English majors, I think it should be a required text in high school. Sidney still has so much to offer us in his most exquisite examination of poetry, often giving us words to live by. This is the best edition from what I can tell and is generally the one referred to in criticism. He died as he wished he had lived--not a poet, but a soldier.
While the Defence of Poesy is still required reading for most English majors, I think it should be a required text in high school. Sidney still has so much to offer us in his most exquisite examination of poetry, often giving us words to live by. This is the best edition from what I can tell and is generally the one referred to in criticism. He died as he wished he had lived--not a poet, but a soldier.
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