Sir Philip Sidney's The Defence of Poesy, written around 1580 and published posthumously in 1595, is the first significant work of literary criticism in English. This episode explores Sidney's arguments for poetry's power to teach and delight, his concept of the poet as a creator of "golden worlds," and his assertion of poetry's superiority over other disciplines in moving readers to virtuous action.

NOTE: I say 1580 was “340 years ago,” but of course that’s off by a century. English professors evidently can’t do math.

For my complete read-through of The Defence of Poesy, start here.