Q. Write the summary of An Apology for Poetry by Philip Sidney.

An Apology for Poetry Summary

The author’s inspiration: The author, who is a poet, explains that a conversation with a horse-master named John Pietro Pugliano inspired him to write this defence.

Pugliano spoke with incredible passion and conviction, praising the art of horsemanship very highly.

Pugliano’s argument: In his view, soldiers were the noblest people in the world, and horsemen were the absolute noblest of all soldiers.

Pugliano even thought that a prince who was a good horseman would create more wonder and admiration among his people than a prince who was skilled in the arts of government.

The need for poetry’s defence: This encounter made the author think. He felt that if a practical skill like horsemanship could receive such passionate praise, then poetry certainly deserved its defence.

This was especially true since it has fallen so low in esteem that it has become “the laughing-stock of children.”

The charge of ingratitude: He firmly believes that the people who speak out against poetry are fundamentally ungrateful. They forget that poetry was the very first “light-giver to ignorance” in many great civilisations.

It acted as a nurturing “nurse” that helped cultivate knowledge and culture from their earliest beginnings. For this reason, he feels compelled to defend this ancient and honourable art against its modern critics.

Poets the Earliest Teachers

In ancient times, poets were society’s very first teachers. Long before formal schools or written philosophies, they were the ones who shared essential knowledge.

Across history and cultures, the first figures to educate their people were poets:

Greece: The earliest teachers were poets like Musaeus, Homer, and Hesiod.

Homer’s epics served as a complete guide to Greek history, religion, and values, while Hesiod’s poems offered practical wisdom on farming and morals.

The mythical poets Orpheus and Linus were also credited with passing down knowledge through song.
Rome: Livius Andronicus and Ennius were early poets who established a literary culture.

Italy: Dante, Boccace, and Petrarch transformed their language into a “treasure-house of science” with their poetry.

England: Gower and Chaucer were the first significant poets who gave prestige and shape to the English language.

The author states that all these poets used the “charming sweetness” of their verse to guide people’s “wild untamed wits” toward knowledge and civilizéd life.

The allegorical power of poetry: The author explains that ancient myths reveal the true power of these poet-teachers through symbolism:
Amphion Building Thebes: The myth that Amphion moved stones with his music to build the city walls is an allegory.

It really means that his beautiful and orderly poetry persuaded a disorganized and chaotic people to come together and create a structured, civilizéd society.

Orpheus Taming Beasts: Similarly, the legend that Orpheus could make wild animals listen to his music is not literal.

It symbolically means that he was able to move “stony and beastly people”—that is, uncivilizéd and brutish men—and bring them toward a life of reason and gentleness through the power of his art.

Poets the First Philosophers

For a long period in history, even the great Greek philosophers appeared to the world only in the disguise of poets. They understood that verse was the most effective way to share their deep insights.

They used verse to make their teachings more memorable and appealing:
Natural Philosophy: Thinkers like Thales, Empedocles, and Parmenides explored the fundamental nature of the universe by presenting their scientific and philosophical theories in verse.

Moral Philosophy: Teachers like Pythagoras and Phocylides delivered their ethical lessons and advice for living a good life through song and poetry.

War and Politics: The poet Tyrtaeus wrote poems about how to conduct war, while the statesman Solon used verse to explain his political policies to the citizens of Athens.
All these figures used a “delightful writing style” to share the most profound knowledge.

The Case of Plato: The author highlights the ultimate irony: even Plato, a philosopher famous for his criticism of poets, used poetic methods himself.

While his works are deeply philosophical on the inside, they have the outer “beauty” and “skin” of poetry. He achieved this by writing in the form of dramatic dialogues rather than dry treatises.

He also wove in “mere tales” or myths, like the story of Gyges’ Ring, to make his abstract philosophical arguments more engaging and understandable for his audience.

Every Country Hath Its Poets

Poetry’s influence on history: The author points out that historians borrow heavily from poets to make their work more compelling. Herodotus, the “Father of History,” named the books of his great work after the Muses, the goddesses of poetry and the arts.

Historians use poetic techniques like writing passionate descriptions of emotions and crafting eloquent speeches for historical figures—speeches that were likely never spoken as written.

The author concludes that neither history nor philosophy could become popular without the “passport of poetry” to make their ideas attractive to a wide audience.

Poetry’s universal appeal: This appreciation for poetry is found in all cultures, regardless of their level of formal learning. In Turkey, poets are honored alongside religious leaders. In Ireland, poets are held in “devout reverence.”

Among the “simple Indians of the Americas,” who have no written language, poet-singers perform “areytos”—songs that preserve their history, ancestry, and religion.

In Wales, poets known as bards have maintained their tradition through many conquests, showing the art’s resilience.

Poetry as a tool for learning: The author believes the universal love for poetry proves that it is the necessary first step toward all other forms of learning. The delight found in poetry serves to “softening and sharpening” the mind.

Because people are motivated by pleasure, poetry prepares them to take on the more difficult work of exercising their minds in other fields.

The Romans Called Poets Prophets

The poet as prophet (“Vates”): The author points out that the Romans called a poet a “vates,” a powerful word meaning diviner, foreseer, or prophet.

This “heavenly title” shows that they believed poets possessed a special, almost supernatural knowledge that went beyond mere storytelling. This deep respect led to practices like the “Sortes Virgilianae” (the Virgilian Lots).

In this custom, people would open the works of the great poet Virgil to a random page, believing the verse they landed on could predict their future.

While the author calls this a “vain and godless superstition,” he uses it as proof of the immense reverence people had for poets.

Prophecy and poetry: The connection between prophecy and poetry was widespread in the ancient world. The famous prophecies from the oracles of Delphos and the Sibyl were always delivered in verse.

The author argues that the poet’s skillful use of rhythm (“number and measure”) and imaginative freedom (“high-flying liberty of conceit”) gave their words a “divine force.”

Sacred texts as divine poetry: The author extends this argument to the Bible, suggesting that the Psalms of David are a “divine poem.”

He believes David’s prophecy is “merely poetical” because it uses the tools of poetry—vivid imagery and emotional language—to express the majesty of God and the beauty of nature more powerfully than simple prose ever could.

He hesitates for a moment, worrying about “profaning a holy name” by linking it to secular poetry. However, he quickly concludes that poetry’s noble purpose and positive effects on humanity make the comparison a worthy one.

The Poet Properly A Maker

The poet as a “maker”: The author begins by looking at the word “poet” itself. In ancient Greek, the word “Poetes” literally means “to make.” Similarly, in English, poets were often called “makers.”

This core meaning reveals that a poet’s primary role is to create, not just to describe or analyse.

Other professions as observers: The author contrasts the poet with practitioners of all other arts and sciences, saying they remain fundamentally limited to studying what already exists in nature or society.

Scientists like astronomers and geometers study what exists. Artists like musicians study natural harmonies. Humanists like philosophers, lawyers, and historians study existing virtues, laws, and past actions.

All of these professionals are there to observe and interpret the world as it is.

The poet’s unique freedom: The poet, however, is exceptional. “Disdaining to be tied to any such subjection,” the poet is not bound by the existing world.

Instead of observing what is, the poet uses their own “invention” to create something entirely new from their imagination. They are not recorders of reality but creators of new realities.

Creates Nature and Man Anew

The “brazen” vs. “golden” worlds: The author argues that the poet, through imagination, “doth grow, in effect, into another nature.” They create a reality that is better than the one we live in.

He draws a sharp contrast between two worlds: Nature’s World is “Brazen,” meaning it is flawed, imperfect, and ordinary. The Poet’s World is “Golden,” meaning the world created by poetry is idealized, beautiful, and perfect. It is an improved version of reality.

Creating ideal characters: A key way poets create this “golden” world is by inventing perfect characters who serve as models for humanity. The author provides several examples: A true lover (Theagenes), a constant friend (Pylades), a valiant man (Orlando), a right prince (Xenophon’s Cyrus), and an excellent man (Virgil’s Aeneas).

These characters are not realistic; they are ideals meant to show virtue in its most perfect form. This act of creation is meaningful because it can inspire real people to emulate these ideals, thereby improving the actual world.

The poet’s vision (“Idea”): This creative power comes from the poet’s “idea, or fore-conceit.” This is a Neoplatonic concept, meaning the poet holds a mental vision of perfection.

They are not just copying the flawed world around them; they are giving form to a perfect idea that exists in their mind.

The divine spark of creativity: The author believes this ability connects humanity to God. “Second Nature” is the real, flawed world God created.

The poet’s ability to create a better, golden world shows that humanity, made in God’s likeness, shares a spark of divine creativity.

He concludes by stating that our “erected wit” (our intellect) allows us to grasp the idea of perfection, even if our “infected will” (our flawed, fallen human nature) prevents us from living up to it.

Poetry is an Art of Imitation

Poetry is defined as an “art of imitation” (mimesis), a concept from the philosopher Aristotle. It’s not just a copy of life but a creative representation that the author calls a “speaking picture.”

This means it creates an image so vivid and powerful that it speaks directly to the reader’s soul. The primary goal of this art is twofold: “to teach and delight.”

It instructs the audience in virtue and wisdom by making its lessons appealing through the pleasure of good storytelling and beautiful language.

Divisions of Poetry

The author identifies three main kinds of poetry:

1. Divine Poetry: This is the most excellent kind, as it imitates “the unconceivable excellencies of God.” Examples include sacred texts like the Psalms of David.

2. Philosophical Poetry: This type deals with subjects like philosophy, history, or science. These poets are limited because they are “wrapped within the fold of the proposed subject” and cannot use their own invention freely.

3. Right Poets: These are the true “makers” and the highest form of poet. They “borrow nothing of what is, hath been, or shall be,” instead using their imagination to create stories about “what may be and should be.”

Their noble purpose is to inspire people to embrace goodness through delight. This, the author believes, is the “noblest scope” of any form of learning.

Verse not Essential

The author strongly argues that “it is not riming and versing that maketh a poet.” Rhyme and meter are merely the “ornament” or clothing (“apparelled” form) of poetry, not its soul.

The true essence of poetry is the ability to create “notable images of virtues, vices, or what else, with that delightful teaching.”

He proves this by citing prose works, like Xenophon’s story of Cyrus, as true “heroical poem[s]” because of their creative and instructive power. Poets chose verse as their “fittest raiment” to elevate their language.

Perfection is the End of Learning

All fields of learning, from science to mathematics, have one ultimate goal: “to lead and draw us to as high a perfection as our degenerate souls… can be capable of.”

These fields are just “serving sciences” that lead to the highest “mistress-knowledge,” which the Greeks called “Architektonike.”

This supreme knowledge isn’t just about knowing things; it’s the knowledge of oneself with the final goal of “well-doing, and not of well-knowing only.” The ultimate purpose of all education is to inspire “virtuous action,” or doing good deeds.

Philosopher and historian as rivals

In the competition to teach virtue, two main rivals emerge: the philosopher and the historian.

The Philosopher: Claims to teach virtue best by providing clear definitions and logical rules—the abstract “precept.” He teaches a theoretical, “disputative virtue” in a classroom setting.

The Historian: Argues that he is superior because he shows “active” virtue in the real world through stories of the past. He offers the concrete “example” drawn from the “experience of many ages.”

The Poet is Superior to Both

The poet as moderator: The author argues that the poet is the true winner in the debate between the philosopher and the historian and should “carry the title from them both.”

Dismissing other fields: He sets divine learning apart as being on another level. He also dismisses lawyers, stating they make people good only through “fear of punishment” and are concerned with creating good citizens, not necessarily good men.

The supreme knowledge: The poet, philosopher, and historian all deal with “men’s manners,” which is the “supreme knowledge” of how to live well. It is in this shared arena that the poet proves to be the best teacher.

Defects of Philosophy and History

The philosopher’s weakness: His teaching is made of “thorny arguments” and “bare rule[s].” It is too abstract, general, and misty for most people to understand or apply.

The historian’s weakness: He is “tied… to what is” (what actually happened) and cannot show “what should be.” Because he must report particular facts without a clear moral lesson, his examples offer “less fruitful doctrine.”

The Force of Poetical Teaching

Combining the best of both: The poet takes the philosopher’s abstract rule (“should be done”) and creates a “perfect picture” of it in action.

The speaking picture: This vivid image acts as a “speaking picture” that powerfully “strike[s], pierce[s], [and] possess[es] the sight of the soul” more effectively than abstract words.

An analogy for clarity: Just as seeing a painting of an elephant is better than hearing a description, poetry “figures forth” wisdom that philosophy leaves obscure.

Pictures of virtues and passions

Making virtues visible: Poetry vividly portrays virtues like patriotism (Ulysses), wisdom, and friendship (Achilles) by showing them through characters.

Making vices clear: It also gives powerful insight into negative traits like “remorse of conscience” (Oedipus) or “self-devouring cruelty” (Atreus) by showing them in action.

Providing ideal models: Works like Xenophon’s Cyrus or Virgil’s Aeneas offer “feigned image[s]” that act as clear guides for how a prince or virtuous person should behave.

Art vs. artist: If a poem fails, it is the fault of the individual poet, not the art form itself.

The popular philosopher

The power of stories: Even Jesus Christ used “divine narration[s]” (parables) because stories are more effective for teaching than abstract lessons.

Accessible vs. obscure: The philosopher teaches “obscurely” and only for the learned, but the poet “is the food for the tenderest stomachs.” The poet is therefore “the right popular philosopher.”

Medicine in a treat: Poetry works like medicine hidden in pleasant food, allowing people who are “childish in the best things” to absorb important lessons enjoyably.

No perfect patterns in history

Universal vs. particular: Following Aristotle, the author states that poetry deals with the universal ideal (“what should be”), while history is stuck with the particular reality (“what was”).

The poet’s advantage: A “feigned Cyrus” from a poet is “more doctrinable” (more instructive) than the real Cyrus because the poet can create a perfect, idealized pattern for readers.

The historian’s limitation: The historian is “bound to tell things as things were,” presenting a messy mix of good and bad actions that don’t provide a clear moral guide.

Stratagems in poetry and history

The feigned example’s power: A fictional story from a poet is just as good at teaching as a true one, and it is better at moving the reader because it “may be tuned to the highest key of passion.”

A clear comparison: The author contrasts a gruesome historical account of a military trick with a poet’s “excellently feigneth” version, arguing the poet’s story teaches the lesson more effectively and pleasantly.

Poet over historian: He concludes that “the best of the historian is subject to the poet,” because the poet can improve on reality for “further teaching and more delighting.”

Virtue exalted and vice punished

Poetry’s moral justice: The idea that good is rewarded and evil is punished is “peculiar to poetry and far off from history.”

How poetry does it: Poetry always shows virtue in its “best colors” to make it lovable. Heroes succeed, and villains are “so manacled” that no one wants to imitate them.

History’s moral chaos: The historian, reporting on a “foolish world,” often shows the opposite: the virtuous suffer (Socrates, Cato) and the wicked prosper (Caesar).

Correcting reality: Poetry can provide the justice that the real world lacks, and “deviseth new punishments in hell for tyrants.”

Moving higher than teaching

The poet’s true victory: The poet wins the “laurel crown” not just for teaching, but for moving people “to well-doing.”

Motivation over instruction: The author argues that moving is “of a higher degree than teaching,” because people won’t learn unless they are “moved with desire to be taught,” and knowledge is useless without the motivation to act.

The poet’s specialty: While philosophy requires “attentive, studious painfulness,” the poet excels at solving the main challenge: moving people to do what is right.

Cluster of Grapes at First

The poet as monarch: In his ability to move people, the poet is the “monarch” of all sciences.

The sweet prospect: The poet makes virtue immediately attractive, like a guide offering a “cluster of grapes” at the start of a journey to entice the traveller.

Delightful method: Instead of difficult definitions, the poet begins with a delightful “tale” in beautiful language and music that captivates everyone.

The good-fellow poet delights

Teaching through pleasure: People who are “childish in the best things” will happily listen to stories of heroes, and in doing so, they unknowingly learn about “wisdom, valour, and justice.”

The power of imitation: Poetry can make even horrible things like “cruel battles” delightful to experience through art.

Stealing a glimpse of goodness: Even “hard-hearted evil men” who hate philosophy will allow themselves to be delighted by a poet, and thus they can be made to “steal to see the form of goodness… ere themselves be aware.”

Apologues of agrippa and nathan

Poetry’s real-world impact: The author gives two examples of how fictional stories achieved real results where direct argument failed.

The fable of the belly: Menenius Agrippa used a “tale” (fable) to end a political conflict in Rome.

Nathan’s parable: Nathan the prophet used a “feigned” story to make King David recognize his own sin.

The conclusion: These examples show that the poet, using the “hand of delight,” can persuade “more effectually than any other art doth.”

Various species of poetry

Acceptance of mixed genres: The author concludes this part of his argument by stating that it is acceptable for different kinds of poetry to be mixed together.

The logic: He argues that if individual genres like tragedy and comedy are good on their own, then their combination (e.g., in a tragicomedy) cannot be harmful.

Elegiac, Iambic, Satiric, Comic

The major genre of poetry has a specific and important moral purpose, aiming to teach the audience virtue in different ways.

Pastoral and elegiac poetry: The Pastoral Poem, set in the countryside, serves a political and moral function. It can illustrate the suffering of people under corrupt rulers or, conversely, the peace and prosperity that come from good leadership.

The Elegiac Poem focuses on lamenting human weakness and the sorrows of the world. Its goal is to move readers to feel pity and compassion rather than blame.

Poetry of rebuke: iambic and satiric: The Iambic Poem is described as “bitter but wholesome.” It functions like strong medicine, directly and aggressively exposing wickedness and vice in society.

The Satiric Poem also targets foolishness, but it uses laughter and ridicule as its weapon. It aims to make people ashamed of their own faults by mocking them.

Dramatic poetry: comedy and tragedy: Comedy teaches by negative example. It imitates the “common errors of life” in a ridiculous way to show the audience what behaviours to avoid.

By contrasting the “filthiness of evil” with the “beauty of virtue,” it helps people recognize their own faults when they see them “contemptibly set forth” on stage. Tragedy serves a more profound purpose.

It “openeth the greatest wounds” of human existence and exposes the hidden moral “ulcers” in society. By showing the terrible downfall of great figures, it makes kings fear becoming tyrants and reveals the “uncertainty of this world,” stirring deep emotions of “admiration and commiseration” (awe and pity).

Poetry of praise: lyric and heroical: The Lyric Poem, often set to music, has the goal of praising virtuous actions and inspiring listeners with moral lessons. The author notes that hearing the old heroic ballad of “Percy and Douglas” stirred his own heart more than a trumpet.

Epic Poem

The Heroical or Epic Poem is the grandest form. It presents inspiring “champions” like Achilles and Aeneas to teach the “most high and excellent truth.”

It makes virtues like “magnanimity and justice shine” by dressing them in their “holiday apparel,” making them seem beautiful and desirable.

Seeing these great figures “most inflameth the mind with desire to be worthy” and provides “counsel how to be worthy,” offering a clear guide for how to live a virtuous life.

Comedy And Tragedy

The author criticizes English tragedies and comedies for not following the rules of “honest civility nor of skilful poetry,” with the exception of the play Gorboduc.

But even Gorboduc, while moral and well-written, is “defective in the circumstances” because it fails to observe the unities of place and time. A play should represent only one place and its action should occur within one day.

English plays, however, often show many days and many places, confusing the audience. They might show a garden, a shipwreck, and a monster’s cave all on the same stage.

They are also “much more liberal” with time, showing decades of events in just two hours, which is absurd. A tragedy should follow the laws of poesy, not history, and is free to invent or adapt stories for dramatic effect.

English plays also often mingle “kings and clowns” without good judgment, which ruins the proper feelings of “admiration and commiseration” in tragedy or “right sportfulness” in comedy.

This results in crude “scurrility” or “doltishness” for laughter, instead of true delight.

Delight Or Laughter?

The author explains the crucial difference between delight and laughter, arguing that the true goal of comedy is not just to make people laugh but to teach them through a higher form of pleasure.

Delight vs. laughter: The author believes that English comedians mistakenly think that “there is no delight without laughter.” He argues that these are two very different feelings:

Delight is a deep sense of joy that comes from things that are harmonious and beautiful. For example, you feel delight when looking at a beautiful person, but you don’t laugh.

Laughter, on the other hand, is a “scornful tickling” that arises from seeing something disproportioned or absurd. For instance, you might laugh at a strange or deformed creature, but you don’t feel genuine delight.

While the two feelings can sometimes overlap, the author insists that laughter is not the primary goal.

The true purpose of comedy: The point of comedy should not be to provoke cheap, scornful laughter. Instead, its aim should be “delightful teaching.” Comedy should use humor to instruct the audience in a pleasant way.

A major fault of contemporary comedy, he says, is that it tries to make audiences laugh at the wrong things:
Inappropriate Targets: It’s wrong to laugh at “sinful things,” which should be hated, or “miserable” things (like a person’s suffering), which should be pitied.

Appropriate Targets: Proper comic laughter should be aimed at mocking recognizable, foolish social types, such as the “busy loving courtier[s]” or the arrogant “self-wise-seeming schoolmaster[s].”

By laughing at these characters, the audience learns not to imitate their foolish behavior.

Affectation In Love Poems

The author notes that English poetry contains many lyrical songs and sonnets about love. He wishes poets would use their skill to praise God’s beauty and goodness instead.

He finds that many love poems, written “under the banner of unresistible love,” sound cold and unconvincing. They use “fiery speeches” and “swelling phrases” that seem copied from other books rather than coming from genuine passion.

They lack the “forcibleness, or energeia” of a truly moved writer. He sees this as a misuse of the “material point of poesy.”

Euphuism in Prose

He criticizes a style of writing that is overly ornate and artificial, prioritizing decorative language over clear and honest expression. The author calls this style Euphuism.

The core problem: “painted affectation”: The author’s main complaint is that writers are disguising true eloquence in a “courtesan-like painted affectation.”

The Metaphor: Just as a courtesan might use thick paint (makeup) to create a false appearance of beauty, these writers use elaborate language to create a false appearance of intelligence or artistry.

The style is beautiful on the surface but lacks substance and sincerity underneath.

Specific Stylistic Faults

The author identifies several key features of this flawed style:

“Far-fet” Words: Using obscure, unfamiliar, or foreign words that sound like “monsters” to the average English speaker. This makes the writing difficult to understand and seem pretentious.

Excessive Alliteration: Overusing the repetition of initial consonant sounds, which the author calls the “coursing of a letter.” While a little can be effective, too much sounds silly and forced.

Overly Elaborate Figures: Piling on too many “figures and flowers” of speech (metaphors, similes, and other rhetorical devices) until the meaning is buried under decoration.

He notes that this “fault” isn’t just found in poets but has infected prose writers, scholars, and even preachers.

The solution: “devour them whole”: The author wishes that writers who want to emulate the great classical orators like Cicero (Tully) and Demosthenes would do more than just borrow phrases.

He says they should “devour them whole.” This means they should deeply study and internalize the principles behind the great orators’ style—their clarity, logic, and natural passion—instead of just superficially copying their techniques.

The jewel analogy: He compares these writers to people who wear jewels just for the sake of being “fine” or flashy.

They use rhetorical figures as external decorations without feeling the genuine passion that should be the true source of powerful language. The style is all for show, lacking any real heart or purpose.

Dancing To One’s Own Music

Style over substance: The author argues that an affected, overly elaborate style of speaking or writing might seem impressive at first glance, creating an “opinion of a seeming fineness,” but it ultimately fails to be convincing because it “persuade[s] few.”

He uses the metaphor that a writer who does this seems to “dance to his own music.” This means the writer is more focused on showing off their cleverness and intricate style than on communicating a clear and true message to the audience.

They care more about speaking “curiously than truly.”

The problem with “similitudes”: A specific target of this criticism is the excessive use of “similitudes,” or comparisons and analogies. The author draws a sharp distinction about their proper use:

Purpose: Similitudes should explain a point to someone who is already willing to listen.
Misuse: They should not serve to prove a point to an opponent.

When a writer uses too many comparisons, it becomes an “absurd surfeit to the ears” and results in “tedious prattling” that ends up confusing the reader’s memory instead of helping their judgment.

The great classical orators, he notes, used these devices “very sparingly.”

Natural vs. artificial style: The author draws a contrast between two types of speakers: Courtiers: He has found a “more sound style” among courtiers (people at the royal court) because they are practical and use language that is natural and effective in real-world situations.

Some Professors: In contrast, some scholars use their knowledge of art simply to show off that knowledge, which is an abuse of their learning.

The Author’s Goal

He concludes by stating that this discussion of style is relevant because poetry and oratory (the art of public speaking) are closely related.

His overall goal is to identify this “common infection” of overly ornate writing so that writers can recognize the fault in themselves and return to a “right use both of matter and manner”—that is, focusing on both solid content and a clear, appropriate style.

The English Language Praised

The author praises the English language, saying it is “capable of any excellent exercising” of poetry. He admits it is a “mingled language,” but argues this makes it better, because it takes “the best of both the other” languages it comes from.

Sidney also says it “wanteth not grammar” in a positive way, meaning it is simple and “void of those cumbersome differences of cases, genders, moods, and tenses” found in languages like Latin.

He humorously calls these complex rules the “Tower of Babylon’s curse.” He says English is equal to any language for expressing thoughts sweetly and appropriately.

It is also “particularly happy in compositions of two or three words together,” much like Greek, which he considers a great beauty in a language.

Quantity, Accent, and Rime

Two systems of verse: The author identifies two main ways of writing poetry:

Ancient (Quantitative Verse): This classical method, used by the Greeks and Romans, is based on the duration of syllables—whether they are spoken quickly (short) or slowly (long). This system is naturally musical and effective at conveying emotion through the sound of the words themselves.

Modern (Accentual-Syllabic Verse): This is the system used in most European languages. It relies on two things: the number of syllables in a line and the pattern of stressed (accented) and unstressed syllables. Its most prominent feature is rhyme.

English’s suitability for both: The author argues that English fits “both sorts,” meaning it works well for both ancient and modern systems. For ancient-style verse, English holds an advantage over other languages because its sound system remains balanced.

For modern-style verse, English is excellent because its words have clear stress patterns. It also naturally uses a caesura, which is a pause or “breathing-place” in the middle of a long line of poetry, a feature that improves rhythm.

English’s rhyming advantage: A key strength of English is its versatility in rhyming. It possesses all three types of rhyme, making it more flexible than its contemporaries:

Masculine Rhyme: The stress is on the final syllable (e.g., “believe” and “receive”).

Feminine Rhyme: The stress is on the second-to-last syllable (e.g., “pleasure” and “treasure”).

Sdrucciola Rhyme: The stress is on the third-to-last syllable (e.g., “beautiful” and “dutiful”).

The author notes that this is superior to Italian and French, which only have two of these three rhyme types.

Third Summary

It is the author’s final and most direct summary of his entire argument in defence of poetry. It’s the third time he pauses to recap, and this one serves as the closing argument before the final humorous farewell.

Poetry’s inherent value: The author restates his core argument: “ever praiseworthy poesy is full of virtue-breeding delightfulness” and has all the benefits of learning.

Defence against criticism: He claims the accusations against poetry are “either false or feeble.” He says that England fails to value poetry because of “poet-apes,” not true poets. He also says that the English language fits poetry perfectly.

A plea for reverence: He then urges his readers not to “scorn the sacred mysteries of poesy” or “laugh at the name of poets.”

The historical authority of poets: He asks them to believe with Aristotle that poets were the “ancient treasurers of the Grecians’ divinity.” He asks them to believe with Bembus that poets first brought “civility” to the world, and with Scaliger that reading Virgil can make a man honest faster than philosophy.

Poetry as a vehicle for hidden truth: He wants them to believe, along with Macrobius, that Homer and Hesiod gave divine knowledge “under the veil of fables.” He says that poetry hides mysteries on purpose so “profane wits” cannot abuse them.

The divine nature of poets: Finally, he wants readers to believe that the gods love poets, write from a “divine fury,” and can make you immortal with their verses.

Humorous Peroration

In his conclusion, the author adopts a lighthearted and humorous tone. He says that if you believe in the power of poetry, people will praise your name, and many poets will celebrate you in their verses.

He places your soul among significant literary figures like Dante’s Beatrice or Virgil’s Anchises. However, if you fail to appreciate “the planet-like music of poetry,” or if you scorn it, he issues a funny curse.

He wishes that you live in love but never gain favour for lacking the skill to write a sonnet. And when you die, he hopes that “your memory dies from the earth for want of an epitaph,” meaning no poet will honour you with a verse, and everyone will completely forget you.

After reading this summary, challenge yourself and test your understanding with specially prepared MCQs on An Apology for Poetry.