Sidney and Elizabeth: Rebelliousness, Reformation, and the New Arcadia.

Attending to the anachronisms in the 1593 Arcadia reveals things about Sidney's mindset, his personal and political circumstances, and his relations with his queen. In violating cultural verisimilitude, Sidney was satisfying the tastes of Elizabeth and her court. He was also rethinking the traditional hierarchy of the genders in light of the ascendency of five ruling queens in his day and preparing himself to serve for the greatest of them as a soldier, diplomat, and statesman. In creating a fictional world that resembled the world around him, he conducted what appear to be thought-experiments in ways to handle England's geo-political problems. Though otherwise admirably equipped for high office, however, he shared with his social caste an ingrained attitude that continually stood in his way. Headstrong and independent, he focused on universal principles of conduct but remained ambivalent about the one most essential in someone in his situation: subservience. Rebellion against superiors, including the queen, put him continually out of order, leading to frustrated expectations and, ultimately, death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]