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Registrato: 20/08/06 19:03 Messaggi: 16
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Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
He was born of an aristocratic family in Kent, in 1554, and embodied that Renaissance ideal of
"scholar-courtier", who was also a brave knight (as it appears in the Cortegiano, by Castiglione). He studied at Oxford, and travelled a lot throughout Europe. For many years he was one of the special favourites of Queen Elizabeth, and earned his fame not only for his poetical skills, but also for his ability in carrying out diplomatic missions. In particular, he was highly considered by public opinion because he was, most openly, against the Pope and against Spain.
He was also the patron of many artists, such as Spenser and Giordano Bruno, who dedicated some
of their best works to him (think of The Shepherdes Calendar by Spenser, or Gli eroici furori, by Bruno).
He wrote a lot, even if poetry was only a sort of passion for him.
Like many other authors, who were destined to die in her youth (think of Surrey, Marlowe, Beaumont, Robert Burns, Byron, Keats and Shelley), his literary production was precocious and considerable in quantity
However his works were not published during his life, but only circulated within the court's narrow circles of friends and scholars.
He wrote in particular about one hundred and fifty sonnets, mostly collected in
Astrophel and Stella (1581-1583)
a prose romance entitled
Arcadia (1580 -1583),
a critical treatise about poetry, known with the title of
Defense of Poesie (1583 -1584),
and, finally, a masque (an allegorical show), which was represented before Queen Elizabeth, in 1594.
Sir Philip Sidney was also a generous soldier, who left England as a volunteer, to defend the Low Countries against Spain. There he died, because of a deadly wound received during a battle at Zutphat, in 1586. |
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