ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -An Apology for Poetry (or The Defence of Poesy) is a work of literary criticism by Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney. It was written in approximately 1580 and first published in 1595, after his death.

Detailed explanation-2: -An Apology for Poetry is about the role of the poet in society. Sidney takes pains to demonstrate that all the great civilizations of the world have valued poetry and the work of the poet. For Sidney, poetry is not merely part of civilisation: it is civilisation. Poetry is a civilised, and civilising, art form.

Detailed explanation-3: -In “An Apology for Poetry, ” Sir Philip Sidney sets out to restore poetry to its rightful place among the arts. Poetry has gotten a bad name in Elizabethan England, disrespected by many of Sidney’s contemporaries.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sidney wrote “An Apology for Poetry” in 1580 but it was published posthumously in 1595. Sidney’s reason for writing “An Apology for Poetry” was that Sidney wished to defend poetry from the allegations imposed by English satirist Stephen Gosson and other critics of that time.