Arsinoë appears in Hellenistic verse named for Egyptian queens, her character representing wealth, power, and court culture contrasting with pastoral simplicity. The character embodies the aristocratic audience for pastoral poetry, reminding readers that bucolic verse was consumed by sophisticated urban elites, not actual shepherds. Arsinoë demonstrates the social complexity of pastoral poetry's production and reception, its celebration of simplicity created for and enjoyed by the educated and powerful.

Arsinoë appears in Hellenistic poetry as a noblewoman, often connected to Ptolemaic patronage and sophisticated urban culture. Unlike rustic shepherdesses, Arsinoë represents the court poetry tradition that coexisted with pastoral in Hellenistic Alexandria. Poets invoke this character when depicting refined, educated women of the aristocracy, contrasting them with simple country maidens. Arsinoë illustrates how classical poetry moved between different social registers, from rustic simplicity to courtly elegance. The character helps students understand that ancient poetry wasn't limited to one social sphere but encompassed various classes and settings, with names signaling which world the poet inhabits.