Sidney's Defense of Poetry

Sidney's defense was to make a case for poetry as the most excellent of pursuits, aiming to convince both the Highborn and the Godly. He takes from Aristotle's poetics the idea that the function of poetry is mimesis or imitation. The poet uses this technique to persuade his audience to adopt true beliefs about God and morality. Because of its aesthetic appeal, poetry can delight as it instructs like a medicine of cherries.