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The Prince Vs Sir Thomas More Rhetorical Analysis

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Regarding the proper role of a ruler, Machiavelli is more convincing in The Prince than Sir Thomas More is in Utopia because Machiavelli is able to use demeaning diction in a brusque writing style to create a stronger emotional appeal between the reader and his pessimistic ideals. In his book addressed to the ruling Medici family of Florence, Machiavelli stresses the importance of using cruelty to subdue a population, claiming that “men...are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous… [and love] is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails” (Machiavelli). By using cynical diction to describe the nature of humans, Machiavelli makes the reader feel disgusted at the thought of their disloyalty, thus making rulers more receptive to Machiavelli’s negative approach to ruling as it satisfies the desire within the reader to fight fire with fire. …show more content…

On the other hand, while trying to oppose the practices of King Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More places increased importance upon ruling with compassion, as he expresses that “A prince ought to take more care of his people’s happiness than of his own, as a shepherd ought to take more care of his flock than of himself” (Utopia). More uses a simile to compare the role of a king to that of a shepherd in order to demonstrate the importance of benevolence and simplicity while

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