Comparative Texts: After reading Macbeth--Act 4 and excerpts from The Prince by Machiavelli, answer the following questions:
How do Machiavelli’s principles apply to the play? What is Shakespeare saying about Machiavelli’s approach to attaining and maintaining political power? Consider the quotation, “It is better to be feared than to be loved.” Is this true for Macbeth? Use textual evidence to support an original, concise thesis statement.
11 Comments
Bradley R
10/8/2013 09:44:46 pm
Machiavelli's priniciple apply to Macbeth in two ways. The first way isthat Macbeth is ruling with an iron fist by constantly murdering people. Machiavelli said that princes should get rid of oppositions to themselves which Macbeth is doing. The problem is this relates to the second idea. Machicavelli said that princes should not deliver cruel and usual punishment. Most would say that murder is a little cruel and unusual so in this way in Macbeth the way Macbeth handles oppositions is wrong but reflects the basic concept.
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Kira M
10/9/2013 01:28:48 am
Machaivelli's principles apply to the play by talking about the two different paths to power and how one should act once he's gained power. Malcolm and Macbeth symbolize the right and the wrong ways to go about ruling a kingdom. For example, Machaivelli says "when the ascent to power is made by paths of wickedness and crime; and second, when a private person becomes ruler of his country by the favor of his fellow-citizens." which is exactly what happens in Macbeth. Macbeth becomes king simply because of his own cruelty by killing Duncan. Whereas Malcolm returns to his rightful place as king by the help of his loyal friends and English subjects.
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saverio young
10/9/2013 04:14:00 am
Machiavelli’s principles apply to the play by how to take over power you have to own the people, for Macbeth to own the people he must kill all those that don’t trust him, or know he killed the real king, so he must take them out and build a trust with the people that don’t know what to think following Machiavelli’s principles on how to be a good prince/king.
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Berk Dikici
10/9/2013 04:51:49 am
The Prince by Machiavelli describes the ways a man can become a king or a prince, he says that fortune and prowess, criminal acts or the approval of his citizens can cause a man’s rise to power. Macbeth is an example of a man who became a king through crime.
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August W
10/9/2013 05:02:20 am
In Machiavellis "The Prince" he discusses multiple topics on how to act as a prince and how to become prince like, two of these topics include that it is better to be feared than loved, and that in order to be a prince you must have at one point been like the common people which the prince rules over. Those two topics very much relate to the Shakespeare play Macbeth, considering how Macbeth rules over his subjects, and how he lived before he took over as king. The first topic in the case of Macbeth, "is it better to be loved or feared", would have been loved. The reason being that many people liked Macbeth before he ascended to power by his own hand and he could have had many loyal subjects and lords. Instead Macbeth decided to rule as a tyrant and create fear in his lords so that no one would attempt to dispose him or try to threaten his stake at the throne. This type of rule is somewhat suggested by Machiavelli, that a prince should rule so that his subjects fear and respect him, yet Macbeth took it to an extreme where the lords began to hate and resent him which Machiavelli warns against, stating that it would end in the downfall of the prince.
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Dennis K
10/9/2013 06:21:23 am
Machiavelli talks about how a prince shouldn’t be thought of as cruel, and that a prince shouldn’t be too easily set in motion. In Shakespeare Macbeth, Macbeth does the exact opposite of both of these rules. Macbeth is thought of as cruel because he wants to reign over the country and therefore kills off everyone he sees as a threat, including the people that were once on his side. People start fearing him and seeing him as a bad king rather than a good king, he is thought of as cruel, and is not loved. He is also easily set in motion by his wife, he listens to her too much, and she is a bad influence on him. I think if he was king alone he would have been nicer, and he probably wouldn’t even have killer the old King. I think Shakespeare is trying to tell the people that by being what is considered a ‘bad’ king, you could actually kick it pretty far. Macbeth just kills everyone and he’s still ruling. I think if he were to be loved people would probably not know about him being such an evil guy. I don’t think it’s true because people will start hating you, and once the whole country hates you, you’re in trouble.
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Frida E.
10/9/2013 06:38:06 am
In the Prince by Machiavelli the author discusses different topics, such as how a Prince should act with his power. Machiavelli’s principles apply to the play Macbeth in two ways, how to obtain power and how you should behave once you have obtained this power. The quote “It is better to be feared than to be loved.” , did not apply to Macbeth before he became a King, and hungry for power. Macbeth was highly liked among his class and was even under the possession of two titles. It was when Macbeth killed Duncan that he did not only become a King, but also a cruel man, a man who did in fact believe that it was better to be feared than to be loved. He decided to rule with cruel thoughts, and would do anything to keep his throne. He wanted people to be afraid of him, and if they would show as much as some hesitation that they wanted him as their King, he would do horrible deeds and slaughter them. In the play Prince by Machiavelli, the author discusses that the Prince should not hesitate to get rid of anyone who will stand in his way (his opponents), which is exactly what Macbeth is also doing. The difference between Macbeth and Machiavelli's Prince is how they chose to obtain their power. In the Prince it says that he needed to fight his opponents, but to give unusual and cruel punishments was unnecessary. "But, before all things, a Prince should so live with his subjects that no vicissitude of good or evil fortune shall oblige him to alter his behavior." (chapter VIII) This quote exemplifies how the Prince was able to be cruel to those needed, but not in the cases were it would be unnecessary. What Shakespeare is saying about Machiavelli’s approach to attaining and maintaining political power is that he sort of agrees. In Machiavelli's play the Prince isn't as cruel as Macbeth when it comes to how he holds on to his power, and that is why the great downfall of Macbeth happens.
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Alec Johannen
10/9/2013 06:58:50 am
Machiavelli's principles fully apply to Shakespeares's play Macbeth. Macbeth rose to power through wickedness and crime and rules after the principle that being feared is better than being loved. He murders and tyrannizes as soon as he seizes power, ironically especially the people who were once close to him. Another irony conscerning Machiavelli's principles is that Macbeth does try to get rid of his opposition, but always fails to do so and kills the wrong people. In the case of Banquo, Fleance was the actual target and he escapes. Later, Macbeth killed Macduff's innocent family instead of Macduff himself. Machiavelli is saying that to rule by fear is better than by love, which evidently does not work for Macbeth. However, Machiavelli mentions being cruel in seperate incidents to make examples, not random killings of innocent people. As I mentioned before, I do not think "It is better to be feared than to be loved" worked for Macbeth which might have had to do with him not necessarily being feared, but full on resented because of the terrible deeds he has done. In the case of a Prince or King becoming too hated by the people they will eventually revolt and overthrow the tyrann.
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Sher-Mon C
10/9/2013 07:53:16 am
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ideas and principles, found in Machiavelli’s The Prince, were applied and disregarded. Macbeth’s actions, analyzed within the context of Machiavelli’s ideal characteristics of a ruler, are frustrating, because he does utilize some of the ideas found in The Prince, but fails to comply with others. For example, in The Prince Machiavelli writes, “…Step by step in the military profession, which steps were gained with a thousand troubles and perils, and were afterwards boldly held by him with many hazardous dangers.” Likewise, Macbeth did attain merit through military service and through slaughter he managed to obtain and maintain his power. “What he achieved cannot be attributed either to fortune or genius,” also holds truth for he had not genius nor fortune on his side. The point that Machiavelli makes, that Macbeth fails to observe, due to his weakness of mind, is that, “When it is necessary for him to proceed against the life of someone, he must do it on proper justification and for manifest cause.” If Macbeth had provided an appropriate reason or excuse for having his opposition killed, he would not have had to worry about the “wrath of aftermath.” Macbeth would have been better off being loved rather than feared, but the possibility of him managing to balance both fear and love, along with his own mental difficulties, were highly doubtful. So, for managing to attain a high position of power and hold it for a while, I give Macbeth 8 points, but sadly I must retract those points due to his failure to properly dispose of his competition.
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Cullen Ennis
10/9/2013 04:27:13 pm
In Shakespeare's Macbeth there are elements of machiavellianism displayed in Macbeth's behavior. However, I believe the prince would not be proud of Macbeth. Despite Macbeth's constant bloodlust, it is also shown that Macbeth is a loved man, as he becomes a traitor. The element of fear that a true "prince" should strike is not there with Macbeth, as all of his actions against people who stand in his way are silent. A good ruler should be feared but not looked at as cruel, whereas Macbeth is not commonly feared, except by those who have figured out who he truly is, but Macbeth is definitely a cruel man. It's also true that Macbeth feels guilt for his actions, which is not a common theme amongst Machiavelli's prince. If a ruler doubts themselves, how should members of their kingdom trust them?
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MitchellD
10/18/2013 06:24:31 am
In Machiavelli's the prince the author implies that it is better to be feared than loved. Macbeth towards the beginning of the play is a much easier character to relate with, he is a person in a situation that has several modern day parallels like a friend pressuring you into giving them money or the same friend asking you to kill you family member who happens to be king. Towards the end of the play Macbeth turns into a fear driven drone. Fear of not only his "right to rule" but also his own life. Due to the prophecy of the three witches, Macbeth lost any control he once had. If Macbeth was not in constant fear of death he may have been more of a Machiavellian prince instead of a dictator.
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