The poetry of Calormen is prolix, sententious, and moralizing. He is obsequious towards the powerful, arrogant towards the weak, sententious and narrow-minded. A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" called it "a talky, sententious affair". They were usually sententious and often self-congratulatory. The technique of sententious speech is exemplified by Polonius' famous speech to Laertes in "Hamlet". His style is grave and sententious. Seneca the Younger strived to develop a "sententious style" like Publilius throughout his life. Andy Gill for "The Independent" described her cover as "sententious".