Discuss Sydney’s views on the capacity of the English language as elaborated in his “An Apology for Poetry.”  

Answer

Discuss Sydney’s views on the capacity of the English language as elaborated in his “An Apology for Poetry.”  

In “An Apology for Poetry” (1595), Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) praises the power of poetry. He also shares his thoughts about the English language. Some people during Sidney’s time thought that English was not good enough for great writing. But Sidney strongly disagreed. He believed English was rich and full of beauty. He defended it with pride. He said that English, like Latin and Greek, could express great ideas and feelings. Sidney wanted poets to use English with love and care.

Sweet and Noble: Sidney says English is a “sweet and noble” language. This means it sounds pleasant and has great value. He believes English can express deep feelings and big ideas just like other famous languages. Some people in his time said Latin or Greek were better. But Sidney says that English can also create beautiful poetry. He gives the example of Chaucer. Chaucer’s poems show that English can be powerful and lovely. The following lines support this point strongly.

“So among the Romans were Livius Andronicus, and Ennius. So in the Italian language, the first that made it aspire to be a treasure-house of science were the poets Dante, Boccace, and Petrarch. So in our English were Gower and Chaucer.”

Blames Bad Writers, Not Language: Sidney admits that some English poems are not good. But he says this is not the fault of the English language. It is the fault of bad poets. Some poets mix funny and serious parts badly. Some use big and strange words without real meaning. These writers do not follow the right rules. Sidney says these mistakes make poetry look weak. But the problem is not with English. Good poets can write great poetry in English if they use it properly.

Following Classical Rules: In Sidney’s time, many people believed that only Latin or Greek could follow classical rules of poetry. But Sidney says English can also follow those rules. He talks about