The Disintegration Of An Empire Garden

The Renaissance English poets metaphorically take a state or a "body politic" as a garden, which can be evidenced in the Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser and the garden poetry by Andrew Marvell. Sir Philip Sidney, a courtier-poet-warrior of the sixteenth century England, zealously writes his ideal of Elizabethan England into his pastoral romance, New Arcadia, in which he expressively exhibits his imagination of Elizabethan empire as a garden. This thesis, while centering on the different phases of garden presentation in New Arcadia, from an idealized pastoral of harmony, beauty and virtue in Book I to a land of instability full of hidden sins in Book II, and finally to a blood-shedding battle field that ruins innocence and righteousness, attempts to present Sidney's change of thought of his later life and thereby suggests that this change reflectively manifests his in-deep speculation on the matters of religious harmony, morality and the culture of the Elizabeth's court. Besides, Sidney's life and writing possibly infers the subtle status of the poet at the Elizabeth's court and an irreconcilable conflict between social reality and spiritual ideal of the poet.The introduction begins with a sketchy review of New Arcadia, which consists of five categorizations. Early critics mainly concern with the literary sources of Arcadias and the comparison of different versions of the text so as to trace Sidney's progress as a thinker or a story-teller. Considering occasional topical allusions and speculative remakes about the problems of Elizabethan England and the didactic functions of Renaissance literature, critics of centuries explore allegorical nature of the work, assuming that the work is meant to discover the thematic tension of Elizabethan politics. Based on the religious dispute in Book III, some scholars associate it with the cotemporary religious matters. Recently, narrative features of New Arcadia are variously mentioned by the critics, among whom some suppose the significance of the interrelationship of the episodes while others focus on the thematic connection of the main plot and the episodes. Nevertheless, the study on Sidney's imagination of Elizabethan empire as a garden is wanting, which, meanwhile, makes the present study possible and significant.Chapter Two traces the tradition of garden poetry and offers a summary analysis of the social background of Sidney's imagination of Elizabethan empire as a garden. Garden poetry is variously reflected in the works of Hesiod, Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Ariosto, Tasso, Petrarch, Dante, and the emblematic meaning of garden poetry during the European Renaissance and the prevalence of real garden at the time enormously inspire the imagination of the English poet to invent an ideal "England garden." In addition, the progression of the spirit of nationalism that results from Reformation enables the court poet with political ideal, like Sidney, ardently anticipates the coming of Elizabethan empire garden.Chapter Three deals with the creation of an Arcadia-garden upon which Sidney pictorially builds his literary imagination of Elizabethan empire as a garden. Sidney, combining the characteristics of garden poetry and those of the layout of the real garden at the time, creates an earthly paradise of Arcadia with ease and order, which is indeed Sidney's spiritual world of his literary mimesis. Then Sidney presents the virtues of the hostesses of Arcadian garden, which is associated with the cult of the Queen in reality, and their sublimity, majesty, mercy and love imply the virtues of idealized Elizabeth.Chapter Four concerns with Arcadian garden' falling into the crisis. Sidney explores the external and internal disruptive forces that lead Arcadia to precarious situation. He firstly exposes the wrongs of the retreated King and Queen, whose folly and lust destroy the moral structure of the Arcadia, and then tells in retrospective narrative the sins and evils that had happened in foreign lands, which fatally affects Arcadia. Meanwhile, the unrest and the complicated situation that give rise to psychological turmoil of the characters, make it difficult for the heroes to carry out the virtuous action, which is in parallel with Sidney's predicament at the Queen's court.Chapter Five is engaged in a discussion of the disintegration of Arcadia. Arcadia becomes a battle field of military combat and religious clash, which is marked by the disappearance of harmonious Arcadian garden, and the death of those who represent innocence, integrity and chastity. The paragon of females that literarily embody Elizabeth is treacherously captured and thereafter forced into quietism, whereas the heroes try their virtuous actions in vain, In Book III, Sidney comprehensively stages the Elizabethan age's power struggle, religious dispute and decaying morality, which at the same time, implicitly conveys the conflict between Sidney's personal ideal and the culture and the politics of the Elizabeth's court.The conclusion comes to a review of Sidney's attitude towards courtly politics, knightly virtue and morality, and religious conviction, which consist of the major parts of his imagination of Elizabethan empire as a garden. Meanwhile, the prevailing idea that takes England as a garden provides Sidney with an opportunity to mirror his ideal and speculate the reality into the fictionalized Arcadian garden. It is perhaps contented that Sidney's life is not only a mini-portraiture of political, religious and ethic issues of the sixteenth century Elizabethan England, but also a self-portrait of a poet of the Elizabeth's court.