up fake stories. So poetry cannot be trusted. Sidney answers this by saying poets do not lie. Poets never say that their stories are real. Just like Aesop’s fables, poetry uses fiction to teach moral lessons. Everyone knows that poems are made-up stories. Even history books add false speeches to make events clear. Poets use imagination to show good examples. These stories may not be true, but they teach the truth. For example, stories like The Tortoise and the Hare teach patience. So, poetry is not lying. Instead, it is teaching through stories.

Waste of Time: Gosson claims poetry is useless. They think it does not teach practical skills like science or math. Sidney disagrees. He says poetry teaches morality better than other subjects. Philosophy uses hard words, and history mixes good and bad examples. It is evident in the following quote.

“For conclusion, I say the philosopher teaches, but he teaches obscurely, so as the learned only can understand him, that is to say, he teaches that are already taught.” 

But poetry combines both. It gives clear lessons through stories. For example, reading about brave heroes like Aeneas inspires courage. Poetry also makes learning enjoyable. So people remember lessons longer. Even kings like Alexander the Great learned from Homer’s poetry.

Poetry Corrupts Morals: Critics say poetry encourages bad behavior. They think love poems or comedies make people foolish or immoral. Sidney says the problem is not poetry itself but bad poets. A knife is not evil; it is only if someone uses it for harm. Good poetry, like the Bible’s parables, teaches goodness. Comedy makes people laugh at foolishness. It helps them avoid mistakes. Tragedy shows the dangers of pride and greed. If some poems are bad, we should blame the writer, not poetry.

Plato Banned Poets, So Poetry is Bad: Some say even the great philosopher Plato criticized poets. They say that Plato rightly banned them (poets) from his ideal society. Sidney answers that Plato himself wrote in a poetic style. Plato feared poetry because it was too powerful, not evil. Poetry moves emotions deeply, which can be dangerous if misused. But this power also makes poetry the best teacher. Sidney says Plato only wanted to remove bad poets, not poetry itself. Good poetry, like Homer’s, was still respected. Overall, Sidney scatters these words to the poetry haters: 

“…while you live, you live in love but never get favour for lacking skill of a sonnet and when you die, your memory die from the earth for want of an epitaph.”

In short, Sidney wrote this book to protect poetry from unfair criticism. He showed that poetry teaches, inspires, and improves people. Though some bad poets may misuse it, true poetry is noble. Sidney believed poetry should be respected as a helpful and powerful art.