Sidney's Defense of Poesie

English 203

Dr. Fike

1. Sidney's Defence responds to a person.

2. What are Gosson's objections to poetry in School of Abuse?  See excerpt attached to this handout.

3. Principles of Neo-Platonism:
   1. Beauty
   2. Flesh vs. spirit
   3. Love
   4. Ladder of love

    4.  Sidney's Sonnet 5 (in Astrophel and Stella):

             a.  Do you see Neo-Platonic ideas here?

             b.  How is this a sonnet about reason?

             c.  Summary:

                    i.  Beauty and virtue

                   ii.  Reason____beauty____virtue

                  iii.  Ladder of love

4. Questions and Answers:  Some basic points:
   1. What is ironic about Plato's criticism of the poets?
   2. What is a poet?
   3. What is poetry? 

                                                               i.      First point:

                                                             ii.      Second point:

                                                            iii.      Third point:

4. What is poetry's relationship to history and philosophy? 
5. What is the function of poetry? 
6. What are the four objections to poetry? 

                                                               i.      Objection #1 and reply.

                                                             ii.      Objection #2 and reply.

                                                            iii.      Objection #3 and reply.

                                                           iv.      Objection #4 and reply.

5. Sidney and the Platonic Hierarchy.
   1. Plato's order:  Forms ____ nature ____ art.
   2. Discussion:  What is Sidney's order?  See "Nature never set forth…."
   3. Discussion:  What does Sidney saying about the artist?

                                                               i.      In what way is the poet God-like?

                                                             ii.      What is the point of mentioning Adam?

                                                            iii.      Does Sidney believe that poetry can perfect human beings?

6. Sidney and the classical oration.
   1. Types of classical orations: 

                                                               i.      Panegyrical

                                                             ii.      Deliberative

                                                            iii.      Judicial

2. Outline:  Parts of the oration:

                                                               i.      exordium (entrance or beginning)

                                                             ii.      narratio (narration—states the facts)

                                                            iii.      propositio (proposition/definition)

                                                           iv.      partitio (division—types of poetry)

                                                             v.      confirmatio (confirmation—poetry and her rivals:  history and philosophy)

                                                           vi.      reprehensio (confutation—objections to poetry)

                                                          vii.      digression (on native English poets)

                                                        viii.      peroratio (conclusion)