Sir Philip Sidney wrote his critical treatise "An Apology for Poetry" in 1580 in response to a work attacking poetry and plays. The Apology was not published until after Sidney's death in 1595. In the Apology, Sidney argues that poetry is an art of imitation that teaches and delights by representing reality in a heightened way. He compares poetry favorably to history for being less tied to facts and philosophy for being less abstract. Sidney believes poetry is most effective at moving readers to virtue by combining the liveliness of history with the ethical focus of philosophy.