Read the Question carefully and choose the correct option.
Who made this following statement ?
“Truly neither philosopher nor historiographer could have entered into the gates of popular judgments, if they had not taken a great passport of poetry”.
(1) Aristotle
(2) Plato
(3) Philip Sydney
(4) William Wordsworth
This Question came in
UGC-NET-English-05-September-2024-Shift-1-Q63
Literary Theory Course
Literary Movement Course
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Detailed Explanation & Answer
This quote comes from Sir Philip Sidney's famous work:
An Apology for Poetry (also known as The Defence of Poesy, 1595).
Context of the Quote:
Sidney is defending poetry against Puritan and moralist critics who considered it frivolous or deceitful.
He argues that poetry holds persuasive and imaginative power that even philosophy and history (historiography) lack when it comes to engaging popular judgment or public opinion.
Hence, philosophers and historians had to "borrow" poetry’s appeal to reach the masses effectively.
Theoretical Foundation:
Sidney combines Renaissance humanism with classical rhetorical theory.
His view was that poetry not only teaches (like philosophy) or records (like history) but also delights — making it more effective in moving the audience.
Textual Origin:
The phrase about philosophers and historiographers needing a "passport of poetry" is directly from Sidney’s essay, where he elaborates on poetry’s superior capacity to stir the moral imagination.
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