Preview

Machiavelli Figurative Language

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
406 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Machiavelli Figurative Language
Throughout the course of history princes can see the struggle of a ruler to have the balance of good and evil. I used excerpts 1 to 4, to illustrate Machiavelli purposes to his audiences which are the princes must have a necessary standards to be a ruler. Machiavelli depended on descriptive adjective, visual imagery, figurative language and insightful thinking to argue his purpose to his audiences that a prince must have balance of good and evil to be a ruler. Machiavelli begin his argument in excerpt 1 and 2 by using figurative language and listing to set up the stage to the importance of his message. Machiavelli uses figurative language and insightful thinking to convey his purpose that a good ruler must have a balance of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of Machiavelli’s standards for rulers of a country is to be focused on warfare by claiming, “A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli was an author and an aspiring political figure who had a strong influence on several aspects of Europe’s government. Due to his critical writings in The Prince, many historians see Machiavelli as a cruel and diabolical political figure whose true intentions were to gain power for himself. However, after looking further into Machiavelli’s political past, one can see that Machiavelli is in fact an intelligent man who possesses a hidden motive to write his novel. In his work, he covered several topics that were used by future city-state leaders to help them become successful. Machiavelli proves to be an astute political mind who used his political experience to assess the actions of famous princes and to write The Prince as a noteworthy…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Prince tells readers how to use power correctly; it also tells readers how to sustain the kingdom’s power and prevent the kingdom’s decay. More specifically, Machiavelli tells readers that what kind of personality and morality a successful prince should have. The Prince…

    • 1760 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Machiavelli’s The Prince, he tackles of issues in society and the government as a whole. Machiavelli believed a good ruler is one that could give justice and provide some type of order to his citizens. He believed that a good ruler should focus more on the present rather than what could be. Machiavelli used several examples to demonstrate his way of thinking in a humanistic way and running a government. He used the fox and the lion for an example. A good ruler should be able to use cunningness and brute force per situation in which it is called for. Machiavelli believes that there are two ways of fighting something, that is by law or by force and he believed those are…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Overall, Machiavelli shows that in order to be an effective prince, one must disregard the morality of one’s actions in certain times for the welfare of the state. This strong belief shows that Machiavelli’s best interests are in the state and not in the general population. Because he…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Introduction: Many people who have read The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli were appalled by Machiavelli’s fierce and authorative tone he used to assert his ideas, especially his concept of how the ends justify the means, which slowly made people begin to criticize him and his book as immoral, wicked, and evil. For this reason, Machiavelli began to be insulted as a ruthless and evil person, or in the adopted term, a Machiavellian. Machiavelli didn’t wish to care for morals or spiritual integrity; however, he didn’t arrange to establish the approach to wickedness. As a matter of fact, he argues that the concept the ends justify the means are meant to be followed, but only when necessary commands for it to happen.…

    • 2621 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Petrarch and Machiavelli

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the fourteenth century, the humanist philosopher Francesco Petrarch wrote a letter entitled How a Ruler Ought to Govern His Sate. Nearly a century later, another philosopher by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book about governing, The Prince. The two documents show many similarities in content and theme. While the two wrote in similar subject matter, it is clear that these philosophers possess distinctly different viewpoints on how a ruler should govern. In Petrarch’s How a Ruler Ought to Govern His Sate and Machiavelli’s The Prince, both philosophers possess different opinions on how a ruler ought to govern. In particular Machiavelli pays specific attention to the importance of appearing like a good ruler. There is much evidence to support this in the readings.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Similarly, William Shakespeare and Machiavelli tell us about 'princes'. Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" can be summarized as a young prince's journey in life to discover the truth of his father's death. Machiavelli's "The Prince" is a kind of 'training guide' for leaders, or in other words it is a kind of description of what a leader should do in order to effectively lead his country. The common subject of these works is reality vs. appearance therefore in this paper the theme of appearance vs. reality will be explored by closely analyzing both of these texts of Machiavelli and Shakespeare. Additionally their perspectives will be compared and contrasted in order to understand that whether they have the same point of view or not.…

    • 1601 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli outlines the characteristics needed to be a strong and admirable leader. He explains that personal characteristics such as courage and compassion, both being aspects of virtue, will earn him praise. However, he feels that this expectation is unrealistic and a prince’s first job is to protect the state, and having “bad” characteristics is sometimes necessary to reach that goal. That being said, in order to protect the state a prince may have to act unscrupulously at times which he believes will bring good fortune in the long run. Machiavelli believes that no matter how a prince acts, whether moral or not, virtue and fortune are the two most influential forces in politics and he shows how, throughout history, they have affected different people in powerful positions. Using the lessons learned by previous people of great political power, Machiavelli points out virtues and fortunes present in the particular cases, while then explaining his beliefs and solutions to the examples from the past. Virtue and fortune go hand in hand throughout this guide. One…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli thought human nature was two-dimensional. He saw humans as predictable, foreseeing their responses to the princes’ actions. Because humans are so unsophisticated in Machiavelli’s eye, they can only love or hate their prince, making them unable to see an intermediate to the good and bad in their ruler. Humans’…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli V. Bush

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideal princely duties include “all mercy, all loyal, all sincerity, all humanity, all religion” (Rebhorn). Italian born, he carries a passionate enthusiasm for the Florentine republic. The Da Vinci of politics, Machiavelli manipulates deceit and duplicity to pursue political goals. Machiavelli presents his political ideals of princely responsibility via his legacy “The Prince”. Claimed as a paramount political activist and a brilliant strategy thinker, Machiavelli’s philosophy soared centuries ahead of his time.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Qualities of a Prince

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the Prince” gives the idea of what makes an all around good ruler. He wrote guidelines touching several topics such as war, reputation, generosity, mercy, and cruelty. All of these topics preach words on how to avoid being hated but still keep power.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lead with Example

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Stability in a ruler’s morals and ethics are a vital asset to have when ruling a group of people. With similarities shared between the ruler and the common person the ruler will then be able to relate and be more respected amongst the population, as opposed to a ruler who rules with his own self interest at hand. In the piece, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli argues the many principles of how a prince should and should not rule. In order to rule successfully he states a prince must possess some of the following characteristics; morality, a strong army, strict rule, common ground with his people and also to be widely respected. Machiavelli laid the ground work for many rulers in the future with his modern view in a time where rulers were primitive and ruled through fear and terror. The Prince and its ideas can even be seen today in our modern day presidents and kings proving that Machiavelli had compelling ideas and arguments for how leaders can obtain and hold a position of power successfully.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays