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: -Sidney advocates a place for poetry within the framework of an aristocratic state, while showing concern for both literary and national identity. Sidney responds in Apology to an emerging antipathy to poetry as expressed in Stephen Gosson’s The Schoole of Abuse.

Detailed explanation-4: -After the general discussion on poetry, Sidney now argues against specific critiques of poetry. First—poetry is useless—a waste of time, second-poetry is deceptive the mother of all lies, third-poetry is immoral-the nurse of abuse, fourth-Plato would have none of it and so banished poets from his republic.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Apology Poem-Ralph Waldo Emerson.