Does a poet make himself, or do his culture and his fiction make him? Sir Philip Sidney is one of the most popular and enduring of Elizabethan authors, and one of those most preoccupied with the relationship between self, society, and art. Edward Berry's The Making of Sir Philip Sidney explores how Sidney 'made' or created himself as a poet by 'making' representations of himself in the roles of some of his most literary creations: Philisides, Astrophil, and the intrusive persona of the Defence of Poetry. Focusing on the significance of these and other self-representations throughout Sidney's career, Berry combines biography, social history, and literary criticism to achieve a carefully balanced portrayal of the poet's life and work. This is a book that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Sidney, and is likely to appeal to both students and scholars of Sidney, as well as to those wishing to understand the cultural events that shaped this central figure of the English Renaissance. Electronic Format Disclaimer: Figure 2 removed at the request of the rights holder.

Making use of a new appreciation of Sidney's proto-novel The Old Arcadia (1580) and a rare 1579 letter newly discovered by this famous Elizabethan courtier, poet and writer, Dr Connell uses contemporary maps by Ortelius and other historical sources to bring to life the politics and art of Sidney and his circle throughout Europe. The Old Arcadia was his first substantial work, and this can be fruitfully compared to his more famous New Arcadia (written in 1586 and left incomplete at his death); this last was published in the 1590s by his sister Mary at a period when it strongly influenced Shakespeare and other writers of the later Elizabethan age.

This book provides a structured introduction to the life and works of Sir Philip Sidney, and includes a chapter on Sidney's closest literary peers and imitators.

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