Lady Macbeth by William Shakespeare

969 Words2 Pages

Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3rd, 1496, in Florence Italy. He was born in a time of intense political confusion when blackmail, violence, and power struggles were rampant. Machiavelli thought that if he were to write a book advising a prince how to maintain his kingdom he might change his leaders. Thus The Prince came to be. In his book, Machiavelli lays down rules, guidelines, and suggestions for princes, kings, and rulers to follow.

Shakespeare wrote Macbeth during a time of great political stability, around 1604. He even based some of his characters off of real people. Banquo was a tribute to the current king whose lineage was thought to have come from the Scottish noble-men. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s shortest, bloodiest, and most popular tragedy. (Sparknotes)

In the beginning, Macbeth, the main character, showed his courage and brevity when he and his army single handedly defeated the Irish and Norwegian armies. A captain later reported back to the king, he asked him if Macbeth had been frightened during the battle. He replied “Yes, as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion (Shakespeare 2).”

Macbeth’s display of courage followed Machiavelli’s principalities to be a king with strength and patriotism. Not only does a king need to have strength and patriotism, but he also needs to instill the same qualities in his army. It is essential for his army to have the same enthusiasm about war as their leader, if not more enthusiasm. Macbeth was able to prepare his troops for any attack. So when Norway attacked, his army was able to obtain victory. Out of all Machiavelli’s rules, this is the one that Macbeth initially performs the best.

King Duncan was impressed ...

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...ctive, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war, its methods and its discipline, for that is the only art expected of a ruler (Machiavelli 46).” When it was all said and done, Macbeth had failed to perform the simplest king duties. Macbeth let his paranoia of being discovered get the better of him and his time, because of this he neglected his army. Macbeth obviously never read The Prince, because if he had he would not have messed up so badly. In the end Macbeth lost. He had not fulfilled his duties like a true king would have.

Works Cited

Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Second. 5. Mineola, NY: Dover Thrift Edition, 2003. 146. Print

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Second. VII. Mineola, NY: Dover Thrift Edition, 1993. 82. Print.

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Prince.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 23 Sept. 2011

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