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Deception And Preservation Of Prospero In The Prince By William Shakespeare

720 Words3 Pages

While Shakespeare mostly disagrees with Machiavellian principles, there is an instance in THE TEMPEST where he does not. In THE PRINCE, Machiavelli states: “…he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” (QUOTE). Machiavelli claims that someone who wants to create a lie will generally be able to. He also states that creating lies is often necessary for rulers. This is in line with the actions of Prospero from THE TEMPEST. In THE TEMPEST, Prospero learns of a plot by Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban, who plan to assassinate Prospero while he is sleeping. In response to this threat, Prospero sets up various ornate costumes to draw the attention of the three miscreants. While Stephano and Trinculo are …show more content…

The result of Stephano’s distraction to his detriment, as he was attacked by Prospero’s spirits. The encounter resulted in the failure of Caliban’s plan and the preservation of Prospero. The statement from Machiavelli claims that deception will be able to find a target, which is precisely what occurs in THE TEMPEST. Also, despite the fact that Prospero utilizes a Machiavellian principle, he is ultimately successful in attaining his goals, while the recipients of the deception are not. While a Machiavellian principle is successful in this instance of THE TEMPEST, Shakespeare still generally disagrees with them. One instance of a Shakespearean character disagreeing with Machiavellian principles is Ferdinand from THE TEMPEST. Machiavellian principles are often not morally sound. In many cases, Machiavelli claims that corrupt traits are the best ones for the rulers of a state to exhibit. One of these claims occurs in Machiavelli’s THE …show more content…

In this instant, Ferdinand, who does not follow Machiavellian principles, realizes the evil that is among the people that do. In Ferdinand’s exclamation, Shakespeare calls his companions, the people who do follow Machiavellian principles, devils, an evil creature. Because of the eventual success of Ferdinand compared to the relative failure of the so-called “devils”, Shakespeare clearly expresses the opinion that achieving success through corrupt means is

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