Although Sir Philip Sidney wrote the poem The Defence of Poesy in 1583, while Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism is believed to have been published sometime between 1705 and 1711, both poems are iconic in the message they delivered.
Sidney wrote the poem at a time when religious conservatism was on the rise across Europe and poetry was looked upon as a means of corrupting the society and inducing people to commit immoral acts. Sidney’s attempt was to highlight the different ways in which poetry had, over the years, played a significant role in advancing knowledge and triggering progress and innovation. Citing examples of English and Italian, two languages developed entirely by iconic poets such as Dante and Alighieri, and the fact that even the greatest of philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle used poetry to convey their thoughts and ideologies, Sidney attempted to establish the fact that poetry was not just a means of ‘pleasure reading’, or based entirely on ideas and concepts of love and passion . In fact Sidney posited that while historians had to limit their writings to facts and events and philosophers often ended up expressing their thoughts in such a complex way that common people would often find them difficult to understand. This is where, according to Sidney, the poet’s role comes in since he can not only share knowledge with people but also create ideals of virtue, courage and morality by creating heroes and stories that inspire. Be it Homer’s theme of wisdom in Ulysses or bravery in Achilles, poetry can play a crucial lone in nurturing societies rather than be viewed simply as an enticing tool that disrupts society’s morals .
Similarly, in An Essay on Criticism, Pope’s focus is on establishing the fact that before a critical analysis of any poetic work is done, there is a certain test of competence, understanding and perception that the critic should pass. This is because in Pope’s opinion, an ill-written critique of poetry not only discourages a potentially talented poet, but also does a great disservice to poetry in general . Pope attempts to establish that while reason and logic (given great importance during the Enlightenment era that lasted between 1688 and 1744) are crucial in developing understanding to people and educating them, ignoring the poetry written by geniuses is a mistake. Specifically citing examples of the Greek civilization and body of literature that was produced in that time, Pope’s stance was that by studying poetry, a lot of information can be learnt and people can become ‘enlightened’. Truth, facts and logic alone, without proper context cannot yield real wisdom. Like idioms, parables, fables etc. poetry has and will continue to play a crucial role in tempering extreme opinions and beliefs of people . Both poems, in their own way, attempted to establish the importance of preserving poetry, and interpreting it to acquire knowledge that would help many generations to come form an understanding of the world they live in.
References
Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Criticism. London: Russel Street, Covent Garden, 1711. Print.
Sidney, Philip. "The Defense of Poesy." English essays, from Sir Philip Sidney to Macaulay. New York: Collier & Son, 1595. Print.
