How does Philip Sidney defend poetry?

Sidney's Apology for Poetry, also known as the Defence, was written in response to attacks made by Stephen Gosson and others, who were concerned with the position of poetry and the dramatic arts in society. Sidney argued that poetry, a biblical literary form, was better at instructing people to be better versions of themselves than history or philosophy. To him, poetry was the 'speaking picture' that permits the imagination and invention to create a better world.