Sidney, Sir Philip

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Sidney, Sir Philip (1554–86) English poet, diplomat, and courtier. Sidney's intricate romance Arcadia (1590) is the earliest example of pastoral in English. His love for Penelope Devereux inspired Astrophel and Stella (1591), the first English sonnet sequence. An Apology for Poetry (1595) is the most important critical work of the Elizabethan era.

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