Philip Sidney: The Gentleman-Poet of Elizabethan England
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) was an English poet, scholar, soldier, and courtier, one of the most prominent figures at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603). During his lifetime, he was revered as the ideal Elizabethan gentleman and was viewed as a beacon of hope for Protestants in Europe, who dreamt of English involvement in a Protestant League. After his untimely battlefield death at the age of 31, his poems were published and became wildly popular, influencing the development of literature during the English Renaissance. His works include the pastoral poem Arcadia, the sonnet cycle Astrophel and Stella, and the essay The Defense of Poetry.
Early Life & Family
Philip Sidney was born in Penshurst Place in Kent, England, on 30 November 1554, the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley. His birth marked the end of a tempestuous time for the country and, indeed, for his own family. A little over a year before, his maternal grandfather, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1506-1553), had been executed after his coup to install Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) on the English throne ended in failure. In the wake of Northumberland's treason, his sons were attainted and imprisoned in the Tower of London – the youngest, Lord Guildford Dudley, was executed alongside Jane Grey, his wife, in February 1554, and the four others were condemned to die. Though related to the traitorous Dudleys by marriage, Sir Henry Sidney avoided their fate because his sisters were favorites of the new Queen Mary I of England (r. 1553-1558). Sir Henry secured his position further by cozying up to Queen Mary's consort, King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598); it was partly because of this friendship that the surviving Dudley brothers were eventually pardoned and released. In his gratitude, Sir Henry named his firstborn after the Spanish king, who was also the boy's godfather.
In 1558, Queen Mary died, and her Protestant half-sister ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth I. The rise of the new queen saw the Dudley family return to royal favor; one of Northumberland's sons, Robert Dudley, had been Elizabeth's close friend and, if rumors could be believed, her lover. In 1564, Dudley was created Earl of Leicester, with benefits extending to the rest of the family – Sir Henry Sidney was made Lord President of the Marches of Wales, and later, he was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, while his wife, Lady Mary Dudley, became one of the new queen's ladies-in-waiting. Lady Mary was often by Elizabeth's side, and when the queen fell dangerously ill with smallpox in October 1562, she helped nurse her back to health. Lady Mary contracted the disease herself, which greatly disfigured her face; thereafter, she was said to have always worn a mask when attending court to hide her scars, though this story may be apocryphal. Years later, Philip Sidney could have been thinking of his mother when writing his Certain Sonnets, four of which deal with a beautiful face disfigured by "the monster called Pain".
In October 1564, 9-year-old Philip was enrolled in Shrewsbury School, an excellent grammar school within the jurisdiction of his father's governance. A naturally studious boy, Sidney thrived at the school, mastering his studies of grammar, mathematics, rhetoric, Latin, French, and Greek, and grew into a handsome and athletic boy. Despite his fragile health, he was a talented horseman, fond of tilting at tournaments. After graduating from grammar school in 1568, Sidney enrolled at Christ Church College at Oxford, where he would study for the next three years. He stayed at Oxford under the guidance of his uncle, the Earl of Leicester, who introduced him to the queen. During this time, a marriage was proposed between Sidney and Anne Cecil, the daughter of one of England's most powerful families. However, the marriage was eventually broken off because Sidney's family was judged to be too poor, and the girl was married off to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, instead. In 1571, Sidney left college without finishing his degree.
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⇒ Philip Sidney: The Gentleman-Poet of Elizabethan England
