Birth date: 
1554
Death date: 
1586
Birth town: 
Kent
Country: 
England

Sir Philip Sidney was born at Penshurst Place, Kent, eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney. He entered Shrewsbury School in 1564 on the same day as Fulke Greville, his friend and biographer. After attending Christ Church, Oxford (1568-72), he travelled in Europe where for three years he perfected his knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. In 1577, aged twenty-two, he was sent as ambassador to the German Emperor and the Prince of Orange.

His strong Protestant sympathies made him advise Elizabeth I in a private letter (1579) against marrying the Duke of Anjou, Roman Catholic heir to the French throne. He was knighted in 1583 and became Member of Parliament for Kent in 1581 and 1584-85. In 1585 he was appointed joint master of the ordnance, the office in charge of the country's military supplies.

A patron of scholars, his wide range of interests accounted for the dedication to him of over forty works of various disciplines. The best-known poet to enjoy his patronage was Spenser who dedicated his Shepherd's Calendar to him. Avoiding commercialism, he did not publish his works in his lifetime. He was fighting against the Spaniards in the Netherlands when he received a wound which eventually killed him at the age of thirty-two. All England mourned this courtier and statesman who had embodied the Elizabethan ideal of virtue.

Poems by this Poet

Displaying 1 - 10 of 432
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Deaf Heavens - 19 May 2014
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Sonnet II Not At First Sight 31 July 2013
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Song 31 July 2013
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Musidorus - 19 May 2014
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Astrophil and Stella - Sonnet 56 29 November 2013
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Wo, wo! - 19 May 2014
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Sonnet XIV Alas, Have I Not 31 July 2013
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Sonnet 37 My Mouth Doth Water 31 July 2013
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The Storie of Cupid 19 May 2014
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Fourth Song 29 November 2013
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