On what ground does Gosson condemn poets and dramatists?
All forms of literature blossomed and flourished luxuriantly in the Elizabethan age. But detractors and abusers of poetry were also there. The leader of these abusers and detractors was Stephen Gosson. Accompanied by his Puritan companions, Gosson wrote a malicious treatise, "THE SCHOOL OF ABUSE" and mischievously dedicated it to SIR PHILIP SYDNEY who was at the time the most celebrated literary figure. Gosson had indicted poetry on four grounds:
a) A MAN COULD EMPLOY HIS TIME MORE USEFULLY THAN IN POETRY,
b) POETRY IS THE MOTHER OF LIES,
c) POETRY IS THE NURSE OF ABUSE, AND,
d) PLATO HAD RIGHTLY BANISHED POETS FROM HIS IDEAL COMMONWEALTH.
In "THE SCHOOL OF ABUSE" Gosson calls poets as the "fathers of lies, pipes of vanities and schooles of abuse." He condemns drama even more maliciously and says that it has abused "Greece of gluttony, Italy of wantonness, Spain of pride, France of deceit, and Dutchland of quaffing."
Gosson's 'School of Abuse' evoked two replies--one from Thomas Lodge titled A Defence of Poetry, Music and Stage play, and the other from Sidney entitled An Apology for Poetry. Sidney's Apology has become a landmark in the history of English criticism.
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