Machiavelli in Relation to Macbeth
Wasserman 1
Daniel Wasserman
Ms. Hall
Honors British Literature 15 December 2014 Macbeth and Machiavelli Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tale true to the old adage, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Shakespeare is not, however, the pioneer of this principle. The concepts of power, corruption, and other concerns of heads of state, were laid out by 16th
Century writer and politician, Niccolo Machiavelli in his most well known work, The Prince.
Throughout history many have oversimplified and extorted Machiavelli's ideas about power and leadership in an attempt to create empires and rule almost always at the expense of the people they rule.
Throughout the play Macbeth exhibits the ambition of a Machiavellian character, but often lacks the the form or any kind of rigidity that would land him firmly among Machiavelli’s clear cut classifications for power figures. Still it is clear based on the plot and details of
Macbeth that Shakespeare was influenced by Machiavelli in writing his famous "Scottish play".
As we read Macbeth we see the story of a man, Macbeth, filled with ambition who even begins the story in a mindset similar to that of a Machiavellian prince. in his most famous work
Machiavelli cites a man named Agathocles
"Agathocles, the Sicilian, became King of Syracuse, not only from a private position but from a low and abject one. This man, the son of a potter, through all the changes in his fortunes, always led an infamous life, nevertheless, he accompanied his
Wasserman 2
infamies with such great ability of mind and body, that, having devoting himself to the military profession, he rose through its ranks to be Praetor of Syracuse." (Machiavelli
4950)
Macbeth is a ruler of what Machiavelli would have called
"a principality obtained through wickedness" (Machiavelli 49) Machiavelli believed that "All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and
Daniel Wasserman
Ms. Hall
Honors British Literature 15 December 2014 Macbeth and Machiavelli Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tale true to the old adage, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Shakespeare is not, however, the pioneer of this principle. The concepts of power, corruption, and other concerns of heads of state, were laid out by 16th
Century writer and politician, Niccolo Machiavelli in his most well known work, The Prince.
Throughout history many have oversimplified and extorted Machiavelli's ideas about power and leadership in an attempt to create empires and rule almost always at the expense of the people they rule.
Throughout the play Macbeth exhibits the ambition of a Machiavellian character, but often lacks the the form or any kind of rigidity that would land him firmly among Machiavelli’s clear cut classifications for power figures. Still it is clear based on the plot and details of
Macbeth that Shakespeare was influenced by Machiavelli in writing his famous "Scottish play".
As we read Macbeth we see the story of a man, Macbeth, filled with ambition who even begins the story in a mindset similar to that of a Machiavellian prince. in his most famous work
Machiavelli cites a man named Agathocles
"Agathocles, the Sicilian, became King of Syracuse, not only from a private position but from a low and abject one. This man, the son of a potter, through all the changes in his fortunes, always led an infamous life, nevertheless, he accompanied his
Wasserman 2
infamies with such great ability of mind and body, that, having devoting himself to the military profession, he rose through its ranks to be Praetor of Syracuse." (Machiavelli
4950)
Macbeth is a ruler of what Machiavelli would have called
"a principality obtained through wickedness" (Machiavelli 49) Machiavelli believed that "All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and