Among the English critics, Philip Sidney holds a very important place.

His Apology
for
poetry is a spirited defence of poetry against all the charges laid against it since
Plato.He considers poetry as the oldest of all branches of learning and establishes
its superiority.
Poetry, according to Sidney, is superior to philosophy by its charm, to history by i
ts
universality, to science by its moral end, to law by its encouragement of human r
ather
than civic goodness. Sidney deals with the usefulness of other forms of poetry als
o.(The pastoral pleases by its helpful comments on contemporary events and life
ingeneral, the elegy by its kindly pity for the weakness of mankind, the satire by
its pleasant ridicule of
folly, the lyric by its sweet praise of all that is praiseworthy, and theepic by its re
presentation of the loftiest truths in the

There are four accusations against poetry mentioned in The School of

Abuse.
1. The first is that poetry is useless and so is a waste of time.
2. The second is that poetry is the mother of lies.
3. The third is that poetry has a corrupting influence.
4. The fourth is that Plato had banished poets from his ideal city.
Sidney answers the four objections
1. First, poetry is not something to waste our time. It gives us virtue.
He already answers this in the previous sections where he makes the
comparison. This is considered an answer for this accusation. Poetry is
deeper and more accessible. It is in the middle between philosophy and
history. He adds ideas to history and facts to philosophy.
2. Concerning the second accusation, Sidney has a very simple answer.
The poet cannot be a liar because he does not pretend to say facts. He
does not say he gives real stories. He does not pretend to say truth in the
first place. Yet, the physicians lies because if he says that someone has a
weak heart, one has to believe him because he has no option. On the
other hand, believing poetry is optional because the poet does not force
any one to believe him
3. Regarding to the third accusation that poetry is immoral, Sidney
says that poetry is like any other discipline. Some people use it in a bad
way and others in a good way. This defence is a different strategy. He
admits the point and says that some parts of literature are immoral and
some are not. Similarly, we have an immoral philosopher, and we have an
immoral poet as well.
4. To the fourth accusation, Sidney says that Plato does not banish all
poets. He talks only about the effect of the immoral poet. Plato is himself
a poet because he writes in a very artistic way.
This section is very important; it is in the heart of the essay.