Sir Philip Sidney

I must begin with my favorite, most memorable passage from Sidney:
"The poet never affirms anything, therefore the poet never lies"

Sidney represents the neo-classical/ renaissance world view, the pragmatic. This world speaks to the audience, who in turn asks, "Why read it if it won't impact us?"

Sidney raises poets to a level higher than nature, "the poet's world is golden". Sidney as well as Shelley rates poets highly (superior).

"But thus much at least with his no few words he drave into me, that self- love is better than any gilding to make that seem gorgeous wherein ourselves be parties."
~ Self- love is better than pretending to...better than wearing an armor that does not expose
your true self. Poets do not wear an armor under which they hide, through their poetry they
expose themselves, their self- love.

"Or rather they, being poets, did exercise their delightful vein in those points of highest knowledge which before them lay hidden to the world."
~ The mood of the poet is hidden to the world, until that curtain is pulled back and we are
lucky enough to gain a portion of the knowledge that they have shared with us through
their poetry.