The Virtue Of An Immoral Love - 1776 Words

The Virtue of an Immoral Love In response to criticism claiming that poesy or fiction was inherently non-virtuous and frivolous, Sir Philip Sidney wrote a daring piece called the Defense of Poesy. Within his rebuttal, Sidney addresses critics concerns with several types of poesy and illuminates that poesy is actually the height of virtue within society. In particular within his description of Lyric poetry, Sidney revels in the Lyric’s ability to recognize, praise, and exemplify â€Å"the reward of virtue† and â€Å"virtuous acts† (Defense of Poesy 673). When looking at Sidney’s own works of Lyric in Astrophil and Stella, Astrophil’s actions of pursuing a bodily love for an unavailable woman seem to disobey many virtue’s that should be present within the poems. However, upon further inspection, Sidney utilizes Astrophil’s misbehavior, and the misfortunes that follow, as an exemplifying juxtaposition to model virtue and to help redefine virtuous text overall. In light of Sidney’s discussion of lyric poetry being the epitome of showing virtue in action, the actions of Sidney’s own character, Astrophil, create an alarming dissonance. The first act defying virtue is within the premise of the story itself. Astrophil is relentlessly perusing an unavailable woman. There are several points within the series of sonnets where Stella s unobtainable nature is made clear. Most notably of these is in the fourth song when finally Stella speaks. Within this song, Astrophil continues to pine afterShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Charlotte Temple By Susanna Rowson1456 Words   |  6 PagesHenton English 80, 1D November 22, 2014 Virtues and Their Connection to an Audience A good American encompasses the qualities and values that are respected among the national public. In Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson, an innocent and pure young girl named Charlotte is corrupted and altered by her French teacher, British companion and his foreign friend. Although Rowson is a British-born author, the work connected with the American audience because the virtues demonstrated by some characters areRead MoreHumes Ethics1047 Words   |  5 Pagesexhibits the same alleged relations as a human child killing his parent; if morality is a question of relations, than the young tree is immoral, which is absurd† (Frankl 1985:233). Furthermore, Hume also argues that moral assessments are not judgments about empirical facts. The philosopher states that it is impossible to find a fact that can be called immoral for any immoral action that is examined. In other words Hume stands on the ground that it is impossible to deduce statements of obligation from statementsRead MoreEthics And Its Impact On Our Lives1455 Words   |  6 Pagesis wrong, as humans, we have to use our conscience to tell us what to do. Our conscience is our inner feeling or voice, almost like a moral compass that we use to guide us. Throughout our lives, ethics is used to form our conscience with vices and virtues and by directing our objects and intentions to become a fuller person. When we are making decisions there are three parts to it. There is the object: the specific thing that is being chosen our said, the intention: the intended outcome or goal,Read MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Interstellar 1004 Words   |  5 Pagessee Cooper as more of a Virtue Theorist. Virtue theory states that, â€Å"An act is morally right just because it is one that a virtuous person, acting in character, would do in that situation† (page 253). In other words, a virtue theorist observes a role model who sets an appropriate example for others. Such a role model is called a moral exemplar. However, this general rule of â€Å"do what a moral exemplar would do† is not specific enough in certain situations. Therefore, virtue theory also provides aRead MoreEssay on Morality and Egos in Radcliffes The Italian1078 Words   |  5 PagesMorality and Egos in The Italian      Ã‚   The gothic tradition loves to play with the morality of a character and this explains ones egotistical tendencies.   In Radcliffes Italian, no matter which side of the morality tree a character stands on, Satan has slipped a little pride in everyones apple.   The role of doubles begins before Poe popularizes it.   Radcliffe works hard to create evil twins and/or corresponding halves to some of the characters in order to demonstrate the power of pride.   TheRead MoreAn Act Of Law Is Just Or Unjust1312 Words   |  6 Pagesmakes the decision of government difficult. This is because one must make a decision that either everyone will love, or some people. There are three schools of thought that are used in order to determine certain legislations. The legislation has to be just, or has to reach a form of justice. These three schools of thought which address justice are deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue-based ethics. A common question has been asked, â€Å"What is justice?† According to Chapter V of John Stuart Mill’sRead MoreThe Source of a Princes Happiness and Misery in Augustine’s City of God and Aquinas’s On Kingship and Machiavelis The Prince1459 Words   |  6 Pageshappiness because they neglect the needs of their soul. True happiness can be found in God’s grace. He would never place material things as a goal of His true followers. Augustine states that in order for a prince to find this happiness, he needs to: fear, love and worship God and extend His kingdom; rule justly; have humility towards his accomplishment; pardon as many crimes as possible and to punish enemies when necessary to uphold the government and defend the republic, not for a prince’s selfish desiresRead MoreImmanuel Kant And John Stuart Mill998 Words   |  4 Pagesindigenous tribes in order to further growth. The consequences created a powerful first world nation that posit ively contributes to the world economy. According to Mill’s theory, they performed a moral act. Nevertheless, this act is considered immoral today. Kant’s belief that all acts must apply to all men would determine that it’s never okay to attack another as the United States did in its past. Regardless of the believed consequence, killing could not logically apply to all men without causingRead MoreNiccolo Machiavelli Essay1536 Words   |  7 Pagesactions should be judged by their consequences. Machiavelli because of the way he thought believed you could calculate a consequence. Thinking this way is a great way to justify actions some would consider to be immoral. The question though was Machiavelli really justifying immoral actions or was he simply being rational? The answer is not obvious though and matters who you are speaking to. Machiavelli can be considered evil seeing that he does in a manner justify it. Does MachiavelliRead MoreMorality and Economics are Closely Related Essay example589 Words   |  3 Pagesmalpractice. This law is also referred to as the trademark law, promoting commercial morality by harmonizing interest, and prevents competitors from diverting a producer’s customers through unfair means (â€Å"Ethics Economics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , 3). Family, culture, love, spirituality, the environment or many other things that make life rich and meaning are not addressed in economics. Economists have documented that people often do not incorporate moral constraints into their decision making process. Good economics