Presenting similar paradoxes in The Old Arcadia, Phillip Sidney not only weaves a subtle yet extravagant tapestry of blatant flattery and cautionary advice, but also literalises the "heart and stomach of a king" in the cross dressing Cleophila. ... In a highly artificial tableau, his mirror offers a distorted manifestation of Elizabethan court and the Queen herself, one angle presenting a warped realm, the other a cautionary tale to his dismissive monarch. ...

• Word Count: 1452
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Graduate