I must admit that I had never heard of Sir Phillip Sidney before purchasing the book. However, after having read this book, i.e., Defence of Poesie, Astrophil and Stella, and Other Writings by Philip Sidney, Elizabeth Porges Watson(Editor; one quickly undrestands that what one is reading is that of the work of a genius. Sidney writes with such eloquence that only Shakespeare comes close to his high standard in his masterwork Astrophil and Stella. English not being my native tongue, I therefore found the text to be tricky to understand; however, at the same time, I must dare say that I came to appreciate this rich language (which I already find to be the most intersting language that I have studied or spoken so far)even more. Swedish, which is my native tongue, does not even come close to the intricate nature of the English language; which has so many variations of the same word ( to mark destintive differences in tone and in meaning, e.g., love has many different meanings,i.e., afection, devotion, amity, affinity to mention to a few.