Book Description
This authoritative edition was originally published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode.It brings together a unique combination of Sidney's poetry and prose - all the major writing, complemented by letters and elegies - to give the essence of his work and thinking.Born in 1554, Sir Philip Sidney was hailed as the perfect Renaissance patron, soldier, lover, and courtier, but it was only after his untimely death at the age of 31 that his literary accomplishments were truly recognized.This collection ranges more widely through Sidney's works than any previous volume and includes substantial parts of both versions of the Arcadia, The Defence of Poesy and the whole of the sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella.Supplementary texts, such as his letters and the numerous elegies which appeared after his death, help to illustrate the whole spectrum of his achievements, and the admiration he inspired in his contemporaries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"As what my heart still sees, thou canst not spy?"
This review relates to the volume: -Sir Philip Sidney: Major
Works-.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Katherine
Duncan-Jones. Oxford World's Classics. 2002.416 pp.
This volume contains the works: A dialogue between two
shepherds...Wilton/ Two Songs for an Accession Day Tilt/
Philisides, the shepherd good and true/ Sing, neighbours,
sing/ The Lady of the May/ Certain Sonnets (32 sonnets)/
The lad Philisides/ The Old Arcadia (Complete)--Four
Eclogues, as well as, "What tongue can her perfections tell",
and "Since nature's works be good"/Lamon's Tale/Astrophil
and Stella (Complete, a sequence of 108 sonnets with
11 numbered songs interspersed!)/ The Defense of Poesy/
4 poems from -The New Arcadia-/ Sidney's poetic versions
of Psalms 6, 13, 23, 29, 38/ Letters (15)/ and 4 Appendices
(Henry Goldwell, "Shows Performed, 1581"/ Edmund Molyneux,
"A historical remembrance of the Sidneys"/Anon., "The
manner of Sir Philip Sidney's Death"/ Three elegies on
Sidney from -The Phoenix Nest-, 1593/ Extract from Fulke
Greville, 16 October 1586)/ and excellent Notes to the
works from pp. 332 - 408.
Sir Philip Sidney was born on 30 November 1554 and died on
17 October 1586, from complications of a battle wound, at the
age of 31.
Perhaps the two best insights into Sidney are supplied by
Katherine Duncan-Jones in her "Introduction" -- the first
is a quote by the modern critic, Theodore Spencer, who
said: "Once the poet has set himself the task of writing
an amorous complaint, that deep melancholy which lay
beneath the surface of glamour of Elizabethan existence,
and which was so characteristic of Sidney himself, begins
to fill the conventional form with more than a conventional
weight.It surges through the magical adagio of the lines;
they have the depth of reverberation, like the sound of
gongs beaten under water, which is sometimes characteristic
of Sidney as of no other Elizabethan, not even Shakespeare."
["Introduction," p. xi].The other quote follows some
critical introduction by the editor herself: "Tellingly,
Sidney's own persona, Philisides, is described on his first
appearance as diabled by unhappiness: "Another young shepherd
named Philisides...had all this time lain upon the ground
at the foot of a cypress tree, leaning upon his elbow, with
so deep a melancholy that his senses carried to his mind no
delight from any of their objects."
But these poems rarely dwell in melancholy.The slight
hindrance, sometimes, is Sidney's versification itself.
The reader may find it slightly stilted and a bit too
poetically "artificial" to meet the rhythm or the rhyme.
However, the glories far outweigh the slights.A further
help to understanding Sidney might come from applying
deeper SYMBOLISM and interpretation to his works, in
names and themes. There is this left to end:
Love makes the earth water to drink,
Love to earth makes water sink;
And if dumb things [without speech] be so witty
Shall a heavenly grace want pity?
[from: -Astrophil and Stella-.]
-- Robert Kilgore. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume of selections from the writings of Sir Philip Sidney includes the whole of his sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, his Defence of Poesy, his Certain Sonnets, and substantial parts of both versions of the Arcadia.A selection of letters helps to create a complete picture of
Sidney the man, and a generous assemblage of supplementary texts illustrates his inventiveness as a royal entertainer and describes the literary cult that grew up around him after his sudden death in 1586. ... Read more

Book Description

Does a poet make himself, or do his culture and his fiction make him? Sir Philip Sidney is one of the most popular and enduring ofElizabethan authors, and one of those most preoccupied with the relationship between self, society, and art.

Edward Berry's The Making of Sir Philip Sidney explores how Sidney 'made' or created himself as a poet by 'making' representations of himself in the roles of some of his most literary creations: Philisides, Astrophil, and the intrusive persona of A Defence of Poetry. Focusing on the significance of these and other self-representations throughout Sidney's career, Berrycombines biography, social history, and literary criticism to achieve a carefully balanced portrayal of the poet's life and work.

This is a book that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Sidney, and is likely to appeal to both students and scholars of Sidney, as well as to those wishing to understand the cultural events that shaped this central figure of the English Renaissance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Sound Argument, Woeful Details
Berry made some good points in his book on Sidney's self-representation, but it needs to be read with great caution.It can be dangerous for an amateur, such as a 12-year-old who uses it as a source of knowledge.Eventhough his centralargument stands unimpaired, Berry's treatment of theArcadia is a mess.Hemade so many unbelievable errors about the verybasics of the Arcadia as afiction--character names and plot--that onecannot help wondering if he hadread the book twice or even once before hetried to write two lengthy chapters on it.In addition to Berry,University of Toronto Press is not free from blame. Many of the errorsBerry made can be detected by someone who has never read the Arcadiabefore, and the Press apparently failed to see them.For instance,Berryassigns a speech to different characters at different places (only pages apart in his book).Confusing the protagonist's pseudonym and hismistress's name, Berry also has the young man consummate his love withhimself.In the labyrinthof Berry's discussion of the plot andcharacters, one can see something comparableto Hamlet's love affair withJuliet or Macbeth's exile in the Forest of Arden.Certainly the Arcadia isa difficult book and Berry is not alone in making mistakes about thenumerous characters and complicated plot.Still, Berry's book is anamazing oddity with its outstanding number of mistakes and his consistencyin making them. It is a book useful not for an amateur but for a scholar. It teaches an important lesson:never attempt to write a book on somethingyou know very little.

Review on the making of sir philip sidney
This was a great book for researching purposes. Not a joy reading book. If you are doing a report on Sir Philip Sidney for school, this is the best book avaliable. It talks about his life and how he became famous, as wellas lots of his poetry. I did a report on the poet and used this book. I gotan A on it, and so will you. The book was a big help, it is very easy tounderstand. ... Read more

Book Description
Philip Sidney`s Arcadia is much more than a pleasant pastoral fiction, Worden reveals in this book. Arcadia is also a grave and urgent commentary on Elizabethan politics. Worden transforms our understanding of Sidney`s masterpiece with a fresh approach that shows how the dramatic historic, political, and religious events of the era influenced Sidney`s work. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A so-so rendering of a fascinating life
Alan Stewart's book might not be great (and, indeed, Katherine Duncan-Jones's biography of Sidney is, in my opinion, much more engrossing and insightful), but it is not as hopelessly boring as a previous reviewer would have us think. According to the opinions expressed by that reviewer, it would seem that any life that is not well documented would not be worth writing a biography about. That is obviously not so, since lack of evidence has always added to a subject's historical fascination. This is especially true of everything Elizabethan. I believe that Philip Sidney was indeed an interesting character, not least because of his tolerance and compassion in a world where neither of these virtues was terribly commonplace. I also believe he was a gifted writer. He was also a member of a politically active family in a politically driven, factious age. Any of these elements alone justifies writing a biography about him. So there's no question of a "boring life" here. I think that the problem here is that Stewart gives a lot of facts, but little insight into what Sidney was really like. In regard to aspects of his emotional life, such as his real feelings for Penelope Rich and his wife Frances, this is probably due to lack of evidence. But, in regard to his more-than-documented public life, that can hardly be the case. I would have appreciated more interpretation together with the naked facts. Also, I think that the subject of Sidney as a writer was insufficiently addressed. Katherine Duncan-Jones's biography is much better at both these issues, and it is the book I would recommend to anyone interested in this remarkable man. Let me say, however, that all is not wrong: Stewart's attempt at depicting Elizabethan politics and power struggles is good enough. This is not what I'd call a gripping book, but it's not a bad one either. What is clear, though, is that in no way can any of its flaws be attributed to its subject. Philip Sidney was certainly a fascinating person in a weird, enthralling, fascinating age.

Philip Sidney: A Boring Life (Until the end, when he dies)
Admittedly I've never read another biography of Philip Sidney, but this one was a tough read.The author choose a tough topic, the often venerated, seldom understood Sir Philip Sidney courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.I decided to read this book because it received a good review in the Atlantic Monthly which said Philip Sidney has been considered a true life embodiment of Castiglione's Perfect Courtier.From what I could tell this was because he died long before he was old enough to do anything unlike a perfect courtier.

The "Double Life" suggests the different ways Sidney was appreciated in England and on the continent. At home, Sidney was constantly being stifled by the whims and maneouvres of the Queen. (Elizabeth's actions are not well justified in Stewart's portrayal.) On the Continent, Sidney is venerated,befriended, and appreciated by Protestants and Catholics alike, for reasons that are not well explained in the text.

The biography also struggles to portray Sidney as a person.I could never get a handle on his personality because it seems that there is not enough documentation to determine what he was really like. Everytime his life got interesting or controversial, records or letters are absent. Thus his story, while fundamentally uninteresting is compounded with a series of anticlimaxes.The only event which was well documented was his death. This was particularly frustrating (after 310 pages) as the reader does not know whether to weep or to cheer.

The problem with Pillip Sidney: A Double Life was whether it should have been written in this format at all.The text is much more useful as an academic reference than as a "good read," yet it is packaged and written as if it were filled with intrigue, controversy, romance and interest. It is not, and probably could not be written so, due to scores of missing letters or other substantive evidence.

I gave the book two stars because it did convey a great deal of information, uninteresting or otherwise. It also did not seem to fail for any reason on its own merits of argument or fact.

I question whether this book should have been published. While I'm sure the author knows a great deal about Elizabethan England, he did not know that there simply isn't enough information about Philip Sidney to either get excited or to write an entire book about.

It seems that the reasons Pilip was regarded as the Perfect Courtier will forever remain a mystery. Vain attempts to explain this will not succeed until more information is discovered. ... Read more

Book Description
Out of the intellectual ferment of the English Renaissance came a number of outstanding critical works that sought to define and defend the role of literature in society and to comment on the craft of writing. Foremost among these is Sir Philip Sidney’s “The Defence of Poesy,” an eloquent argument for fiction as a means of inspiring its readers to virtuous action. George Puttenham’s “The Art of English Poesy” is an entertaining examination of poetry, verse form, and rhetoric, while Samuel Daniel’s “A Defence of Rhyme” considers the practice of versification and praises the English literary tradition. Along with pieces by such writers as Sir John Harrington, Francis Bacon, and Ben Jonson, these works reveal the emergence of key critical ideas and approaches, and celebrate the possibilities of the English language. ... Read more