picture to teach and delight This quote clearly shows Sidney s main argument Poetry is like a picture that speaks It does not only show ideas but makes them lively Through stories and characters poetry teaches moral lessons At the same time it delights the reader with beauty imagination and pleasure Poetry Teaches Better Than Philosophy Sidney compares poetry with philosophy Philosophy teaches moral rules but it does so in a dry and difficult way Many people cannot understand or enjoy it Poetry on the other hand teaches the same lessons through examples and stories Sidney says Whatsoever the philosopher saith should be done the poet giveth a perfect picture of it This means the poet shows moral truth in action When readers see good characters rewarded and bad characters punished they learn easily Thus poetry teaches moral values more effectively than philosophy because it uses delight to teach So Sidney calls the poet The right popular philosopher Poetry Is Better Than History Sidney also compares poetry with history History tells facts but it cannot choose only good examples Poetry is free to show ideal characters and perfect actions The poet teaches ordinary people in an easy way Poetry teaches how people should live not just what happened in the past Because poetry delights the reader its teaching stays longer in the mind Delight Is Necessary for Teaching Sidney strongly believes that teaching without pleasure is useless People do not want to learn unless they enjoy learning He clearly says Who will be taught if he be not moved with desire to be taught Poetry creates this desire Through beautiful language rhythm and imagination poetry delights the heart This delight prepares the mind to accept moral lessons So the true function of a poet is to teach and delight Poetry Leads Humans Toward Perfection Sidney says the final aim of all learning is to make human beings better Poetry helps people move toward moral perfection Poetry teaches virtue and goodness while delighting the reader Because it works on both the mind and emotions poetry becomes the most powerful teacher In conclusion Sidney strongly proves that the true function of poetry is to teach and delight together Poetry teaches moral truth like philosophy but in a more attractive way It gives examples like history but in a more ideal form By delighting the reader poetry makes teaching effective and lasting According to Sidney no other art can teach so well or please so deeply Therefore poetry is not useless or dangerous it is the noblest and most useful form of learning