An Apology for Poetry

to reply to what any lover of poetry must consider a perverse and wrong-headed attack.’ Sidney identifies several charges which make up this ‘wrong-headed attack’; that there are ‘many other more fruitful knowledges’ than poetry, that poetry ‘is the mother of lies,’ and that poetry ‘is the nurse of abuse.’ These perceptions confronting literature were legitimate beliefs in Elizabethan England and serve as pretext for Sidney penning Defence. Sidney opposes these contemporary opinions by challenging the hierarchy of forms of knowledge in relation to history, philosophy and poetry. Secondly, the nature of poetry is also defined, and its content…

judge a book by its cover. It is drilled into our heads as early as primary school, but why is this same ideology not applied to poetry? Don’t judge a poet by his poetry: I had to learn this lesson the hard way from the poet Timothy Yu, and I honestly feel guilty for initially judging him so negatively. When I initially read some of Timothy Yu’s poetry on my own, I was very confused and uncomfortable. I was disgusted by his imagery of Chinese people eating puppies and use of bathroom humor, and…

In the poetry collection Whereas by Layli Long Soldier, there is a intense division between Native American tribes and The United States government. In 2009, in an attempt to rectify this divide, the United States Congress issues an apology on to all the tribes they wronged. Long Soldier, a Lakota woman uses the entire second half of her novel to rebuke an apology she deems inadequate. Initially when analyzing her writing, it seems nonsensical and unorganized. This collection disrupts typical…

William Carlos Williams' poetry generally appears to focus around the subtleties in life, things that would normally be overlooked by the common eye. In his poem "This is Just to Say", he gives us an empty apology for eating plums that were being saved for breakfast. An apology written for a couple of plums stolen from the ice box would seem excessive to most but to Williams the plums were only one of many problems in his lifeless marriage. "Lifeless marriage?” you say. How did we come to this…

What are the charges against Socrates as recorded in the Apology. Is he guilty of them? why or why not? In Plato’s Apology, there were several charges against Socrates during his trial. The three main charges against him is his religious beliefs, corrupting the young and also his views of the Athenians. Even though there were several prosecutors and evidence to prove Socrates guilty, he guarded his ground and remained true to his philosophies. He proved many of his beliefs with evidence that…

Kopacz, Anne Bradstreet’s poetry was recognized “primarily for its historical value” (176). Some men of the early American literacy awareness, recognize Anne Bradstreet…

‘This Is Just To Say’ explores themes including, but not limited to, apologies and forgiveness. The poem takes us on a journey of the guilt experienced by the narrator for devouring someone else’s plums. The informality of the title implies the narrator knows the poem’s recipient. This casual, blasé approach, particularly the use of the lexis “just”, allows us to assume there is some level of comfort or familiarity between the two. Moreover, the location of where the poem takes place contributes…

This theory is known as the pragmatic theory. According to this theory, a work of literature should have an impact on the audience. Sir Philip Sidney, in his essay “An Apology for Poetry” says that the main function of poetry is to teach and to delight. He distinguishes poets from the historians and philosophers by saying that poets has the capability to combine the concrete facts provided by the historians and the moral values of the philosophers and present it in a delightful manner. The…

"Eve's Apology in Defense of Women" He never sought her weakeness to reprove, (805) With those sharp words, which he of God did hear: Yet Men will boast of Knowledge, which he took From Eve's fair hand, as from a learned Book. (Lanyer, "Eve's Apology," charlesyoungs.com) The implication is that although each had a part in the sin, and Adam did not blame Eve for "her weakness," man still goes on to "boast of knowledge... from Eve's fair hand." Man's knowledge of Good and Evil, the basis for all…

“I know why the Caged Bird Sings” marked one of the first times that a Black autobiographer could, as Als put it, "write about blackness from the inside, without apology or defense". ( "Maya Angelou: 1929-2014". Poetry Foundation. Poetry Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2015.) Through the writing of her autobiography, Angelou became recognized as a respected spokesperson for blacks and women and is still one today. Angelou found a way to “replicate who and what she was on paper. A lot of writers…