1. Sidney’s golden world:- 2012
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
ISLAMABAD
M.A ENGLISH LANGUAGE &LITERATURE
2 ND SEMESTER
SUBJECT: LITERARY CRITICISM
ASSIGNMENT: SYDNEY’S GOLDEN WORLD
SUBMITTED BY: KINZA GHAFOOR
HUMA HAFEEZ
HUMA ASLAM
SUMAIRA BIBI
CLASS: MA (2ND SEM ,SEC A)
SUBMITTED TO: MA:AM SAIRA
DATE: 21 MAY, 2012
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2. Sidney’s golden world:- 2012
SYDNEY’S GOLDEN WORLD
Among the English critics, Philip Sidney possesses a very significant place. In his
poetry, he made a defense against all the charges made against poetry since Plato. Due
the criticism he is known as the “father of English criticism”. In the Renaissance period,
folks were attacking literature as they became corrupt. They want to abridge that
students study in schools. One of the Renaissance writers, Stephen Gosson in the
“School of Abuse” made charges against poetry In "An Apology for Poetry" Sir Philip
Sidney attempts to illustrate the importance of literature to society.
Sidney finds poetry as “the first light-giver to ignorance and first nurse”. It gave
nourishment to other fields of knowledge. The first philosophers and Historians were
poets. They borrowed the “fashion and perchance weight of the poets”. Philosophers
appear to the world “under the mask of poets”.
Poetry, according to Sidney, “is an art of imitation, a representing, counterfeiting, or
figuring forth; to speak metaphorically, a speaking picture, with this end, to teach and
delight”.
Sidney divides poetry in three categories, first type is religious poetry. Poets who fall
under this category, they “imitate the inconceivable excellencies of God”. Second type
of poet deals with the matters of philosophy, nature, astronomy and history. Third kind
of poets are those who “imitate to teach and delight”. Sidney considers them the “right
poets” who follow no rules and regulations but only their wit. Sidney judges that painter
meaner who slavishly imitates things as they are before him and he puts philosopher and
historian under this.
Poetry is done in verse form, but it is not the verse form which makes poetry. It is the
story or literary work which makes poetry. Verse is just “an ornament and no cause of
poetry”. Sidney demonstrates that poet creates things which are new for others. Themes
and ideas given by the poet are important. For example if a lawyer wears armor, then
despite of wearing it, he will be a lawyer not the soldier because it is not the gown which
makes him a lawyer, but the work done by him. Just like this “it is riming and versing
that makes a poet”, but the work.
Poet uses verse form but it is not the matter that words fall from the mouth, but
arranging that words according to the decorum of the subject. Many historians use verse
form and same do the philosophers but they are not poets. Plato who was a philosopher
and was against poetry, he used verse form. For example, fable of Atlantic Island which
was written by Solon and later continued by Plato was nothing and based on imagination
was written in verse form. Republic was also written in verse form by Plato. It is not
versification that makes a person poet, but the creation of new thing.
The poet's talents twig from the fact that he is able to create from a pre-existing idea that
is called the fore-conceit. Sidney agrees to Plato’s idea of higher world, but he thinks
that poetry leads man to that real world. Plato considers that philosophy leads to that
higher world of being. Plato feels that empiricists try to understand this shadow of that
real being and only philosopher transcend to that real form of learning. Sidney opposes
Plato’s idea and elicit that poetry is able to create a new world from that pre-existing
idea of being. “The poet only, only brings his own stuff, and doth not learn a conceit out
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3. Sidney’s golden world:- 2012
of a matter, but makes matter for a conceit”.
According to Sidney, poet being a maker creates the things far most beautiful then this
world of being. Poet creates a world of happiness and joy that is better then this world
which is full of sorrows and sufferings.
“Only the poet, disdaining to be tied on any such subjection, lifted up with the vigor of
his own invention, doth 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, as the
heroes, demi-gods, cyclops, chimeras, furies, and such like”.
While Plato illustrates that poet imitates from this world and thus makes a slavish copy
which is thrice removed from the reality. Sidney believes that poets don’t make a slavish
copy of this world but the poet imitates the God’s real idea of being, and “the poets only
deliver a golden” world, where every thing is perfect.
Due to its power of being able to create, Greeks called a poet, “Maker”. Roman called
him a prophet. Sidney said that poetry is the highest estimation of learning. The most
ancient books are of poetry and it is the mother of all knowledges and all other sprung
out of it. Poetry is superior to philosophy and history and all other sciences. Showing the
superiority of poetry to the history and the philosophy Sidney says that while the
philosopher teaches by precept alone and the historian by example alone. Poetry unlike
history and philosophy deals with both, since it represent the philosopher’s perception in
an example. Poetry does not only instruct the individuals, but also provide them a
stimulus for learning.
Poetry should have a moral purpose. It is in the hands of imitator whether he uses it in a
good or bad manner. It’s not the art which is good or bad, it is the use of art which
makes it good or bad. For example if a person owns a sword, then with the help of it he
can kill his father or he can defend his country.
“Eikastic” and “Phantastike” are contrary terms. “Eikastic” in general means that poets
own imagination while “phantastike” means that complete mimical or without one’s own
creativity. Plato terms poetry as Phantastike because it only imitates the virtue but poets
don’t practice and they don’t posses a total knowledge about the thing which they are
imitating. Plato considers poetry as an art for art sake but Sidney illustrates poetry as
Eikastic and considers it an art for life sake. The poet “with his imitation make his own,
beautifying it both for further teaching and more delighting”. Poet should have a didactic
purpose and this teaching should be delightful.
Sidney further continues with Aristotle’s idea that “it is not Gnosis [knowing] but Praxis
[doing] must be the fruit and how Praxis cannot be, without being moved to practice”.
Philosophers only tell about good and bad, but it is in our nature to know about good and
evil, but the poet can instigate men to desire the good for action is greater than
knowledge. Poetry is even capable of making the unpleasant like war and horror pleasant
in terms of the means through which it is presented.
“It is that feigning notable images of virtues, vices, or what else, with that delightful
teaching, which must be the right describing to know a poet by.”
Teaching is the first and foremost important aspect of poetry. Whatever kind of image is
shown its purpose is to teach first. People who read poetry of Amadis de Gaule, have
found their hearts moved to the exercise or courtesy, liberality an especially courage. For
teaching purpose lets take an example of Zopyrus, who was a faithful servant of kin
Darius on finding his King disturbed by the rebellious Babylonians cuts his own nose
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4. Sidney’s golden world:- 2012
and ears and flies to the Babylonians and finds the sources and deliver them to Darius.
Poetic imagination brings forth a model on which readers or audiences can build their
own characters for the better.”It work not only to make a Cyrus, which had been but a
particular Excellency as nature might have done, but to bestow a Cyrus upon the world
to make many Cyruses, if they will learn aright, why and how that maker made him.”
Comedy imitates the common errors of life. It shows evil characters and doings, but that
does not mean that it teaches evil. Those evil characters are given folly shapes in order to
teach in a delightful manner.
Delight is good for Sidney, because it derives from the recognition of harmony,
perfection or goodness. It appeals not only to the senses, but to the understanding as
well. Poetry can catch some of the delight of the senses by means of the words, which
substitute sense experience. It also provides, of course, an intellectual delight.
Poet’s idea is manifest and if he delivers them rightly as he imagined then his work is
not useless or like building castles in the air. His purpose is to teach others through his
power of imagination. If his idea or theme is exactly conveyed to the reader, then he will
be called prophet.
To conclude that, poetry is the mother of all branches of knowledge. Its purpose is to
acknowledged people of that divine essence. It aims to make a golden world, which is
free from all tensions and worries and which is full of delight and pleasure.
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