Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, using a twist of a literary genre of the era--cloaking and imparting his beliefs based on current events of the time, "The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli is an illustration of Machiavelli's duplicity of hiding an alternative belief and motive beneath its rhetoric of monarchical rights, privileges and purposes. The author relates that, in "The Prince", Machiavelli details the life a ruling prince, who was purportedly Lorenzo d'Medici, should lead by integrating his knowledge of common society and human behavior. The paper reports that Machiavelli emphasizes certain character traits in a ruler, which must be served in order to gain an even greater advantage: A man must feed his ambition, match the abilities of previous men of greatness, and be ready to seize any opportunity just as Moses, Romulus, and Cyrus did.

From the Paper:

"Machiavelli's supposed objective in "The Prince" is to illustrate how political principles can be implemented and manipulated to gain and maintain political power. He is not concerned about the suffering, death, or financial ruin his course of actions metes out on the social classes lower than the royal line. "The Prince" is a grand example of "the end justifies the means". Whatever means are necessary for a prince to rise and maintain political power must be accomplished. In the game of "power politics", there is no room for the faint of heart, justice for all, or lack of aggression. Power will be gained through the advantages of boldness, audacity, genocide if need be, and annihilation of opposing rulers and their familial lines."

Visitors who viewed this Analytical Essay also liked these:

• Essay # 65483 : "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli"
• Book Review # 96622 : "The Prince"
• Comparison Essay # 44487 : "Hobbes, Machiavelli and a Sovereign"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: