Masquerade and disguise imagery
The masquerade provides an opportunity for a great deal of playful and unexpected stage imagery. The characters all don disguises for the event, many of them assuming different identities throughout the party, which leads to confusion. Doralice and Melantha each dress as boys to meet their lovers, which also creates quite a striking sight gag.
Water imagery
While the play does not take place directly on the water, there are many references made to Sicily's location near the water. For one, Leonidas and Palmyra are raised near the sea in a fisherman's cabin. Then to get her out of the way and prevent Leonidas from marrying her, Polydamas decrees that Palmyra is to be executed by putting her in a boat and setting her adrift for three days.
Leonidas the Prisoner
Before it is revealed to the court that Leonidas is the rightful king of the land, he is imprisoned by Polydamas and surrounded by guards. The image of the young and handsome nobleman so suddenly fallen from grace is a marked one that contrasts with his sudden ascent to the throne at the beginning of the play.
The Grottos
The problem with Rhodophil and Palamede's respective affairs is that they keep bringing their mistresses to the same places, which is sure to make matters a little complicated. At one point, they both bring their mistresses to the grottoes, which are manmade caves built for discreet rendezvous. The grottoes in the play are a quintessential element of Italian architectural history and scenically locate the play in Sicily.
