Sidney Defends The Worth Of Poetry - 2624 Words

Sidney defends the worth of poetry by presenting us with a long defense written to William Ponsonby, a very popular publisher of the Elizabethan era. Sidney breaks his argument down into eight sections, each one arguing another point as to why poetry is worthy and should not be thought of as sub-par literature. His arguments are thorough, leaving no gaps between thoughts, and very persuasive in both content and style. I believe his argument is both successful and thorough, covering everything that has been critiqued about poesy in the ages before this work was written. Sidney opens with the first section called the Exordium in lines 1-50. It is significant to note that it was printed several years after his death, communicating the aristocratic air we get from him, manliness, courtier, advisor, masculine roles that Sidney is hinting at comparing himself to a horse master. The introduction here of his argument is lighthearted and funny, â€Å"if I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him I think he would have persuaded me to have wished myself a horse† (27-30). This show of establishing his own good character through Ethos, pathos the applying to peoples emotions as well as William Ponsonby’s emotions, as this is whom the argument is addressed to. Sidney’s thesis is visible in lines 43-51 where he says that he will bring forth the evidence to prove that poetry is a worthy literary medium and that without poetry we do not have history or philosophy. The secondShow MoreRelated Apology for Poetry Essay1900 Words   |  8 PagesAn â€Å"Apology for Poetry† is a compelling essay refuting the attack on poetry by Puritan and fundamentalist Stephen Gosson. This complex article written by Sir Phillip Sidney represents the decisive rebuttal defending poetry. His strong emotive passages defend the uncongenial comments of poetry from Gosson. Although, his justification for the rebuttal is alluded to Gosson’s durable attacks on poetry; it is known Gosson’s remarks prompt Sidney’s attitude to defend not only against Gosson but as wellRead MoreDeclaration of Independence9744 Words   |  39 Pageshis reading draft of the Declaration, Jefferson systematically analyzed the patterns of accentuation in a wide range of English writers, including Milton, Pope, Shakespeare, Addison, Gray, and Garth. Although Thoughts on English Prosody deals with poetry, it displays Jeffersons keen sense of the interplay between sound a nd sense in language. There can be little doubt that, like many accomplished writers, he consciously composed for the ear as well as for the eye--a trait that is nowhere better illustratedRead MorePeculiarities of Euphemisms in English and Difficulties in Their Translation19488 Words   |  78 Pagesreasons for its use. Here is that classification. The desire to adapt oneself to the general sentiment suitable to, or the general atmosphere of, the time, the place, the company. In an elevated form: anxiety to preserve a lofty or a beautiful style in poetry, oratory, etc., where unseemly trivial words or metaphors would jar on one. In addressing children, or in lowly or very friendly circles: avoidance of medical (or otherwise technical) or literary words by the employment of euphemistic terms; in addressingRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagestheorists to codify and systematize their beliefs, there is a lack of systemic treatment of the Rastas point of view on any subject. This is particularly true of their treatment of Babylon. However, in their limited writings and particularly in their poetry and reggae lyrics, their evocative images address various aspects of Babylonian reality. Rastas can recite almost ad inï ¬ nitum the historical atrocities of Babylon, from its days as a Middle Eastern world power to its contemporary Euro-American