Sir Philip Sidney

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Sir Philip Sidney

• By Emily Clarke and Nolan Storey
• Period 4

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Early Life

• Lived from 1554-1586
• Born in Kent, England
• Named after godfather, King Philip II of Spain
• Educated at Schrewsbury School and Christ Church
  School
• Left school to travel around Europe-met many
  famous intellectuals and politicians
• He was a poet, soldier, and courtier

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Role in Society

• Sidney attended the court of Queen Elizabeth I
• Was considered the flower of chivalry
• He had a strong influence on Edmund Spencer (who
  dedicated The Shepherds Calendar to Sidney)
• 1580-Queen Elizabeth I dismissed Sidney from her
  court because he opposed her projectile marriage
  to the Duke of Anjou
• Sidney married Francis Waslingham in 1583

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Farewell the worthiest knight who ever lived

• 1586-Sidney and his brother, Robert, took part in
  a skirmish against Spain at Zutphen
• Sidney was shot by a musket in the leg
• He died twenty two days later
• The Queen and the people of London were
  devastated by his death because they believed he
  was the ideal courtier

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Famous works

• Astrophil and Stella
• The Countess of Pembroke's Acadia- very popular-
  it was a romance combined with the use of
  pastoral technique
• An Apology of Poetry-Sidney interrogates many
  Classical and Italian precepts of fiction

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Astrophil and Stella

• Contains 108 sonnets and 11 songs
• The name derives from the two Greek words,
  'aster' (star) and 'phil' (lover), and the Latin
  word 'stella' meaning star. Thus Astrophil is the
  star lover, and Stella is his star.
• Some parts model Italian writer Petrarch
  (Petrarchan Rhyme Scheme)
• Some suggest that the poem represents Sidneys
  love for Penelope Rich, a fellow courtiers wife

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