...political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli has often been regarded as the person who first thought of and spread the idea of using deception, manipulation and cruelty to be successful in politics. While his famous book, The Prince, definitely supports this thinking, there are many other books written by Machiavelli, such as Discourses on Livy, that don’t seem to agree with this viewpoint. I believe that Machiavelli doesn’t actually think the way he sounded in The Prince and was simply writing what needed to be written in order to gain favor with Lorenzo de' Medici, governor of Florence. In The Prince, Machiavelli writes to then ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici. He essentially gives him a guide on how to rule his people. This way...
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...In the comedic play, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, deception, love, quarrel, and death can be seen throughout the whole play. In this play, a company of warriors who are revered as valiant heroes come to Messina to celebrate their victory with the Noble, Leonato, and his family, Hero, Beatrice, and many others. This company is made up of the Prince, Don Pedro, his illegitimate brother, Don John, two Counts, Claudio and Benedick, and various other men. Once they arrive in Messina, they are happily welcomed, and as soon as Claudio set his eyes on Hero, he had fallen in love, but, devastatingly, his love was thwarted by Don John's ruse to deceive both him and the Prince. This is but one instance of how deception is used in this comedic play to contribute to the overall plot, thus through the use of deception in this play such as the scenes where Beatrice and Benedick were fooled, Claudio and Don Pedro were deceived, and everyone was tricked, the theme that deception is not inherently evil, but can be used as a means to an end is illuminated. To begin with, the theme is illustrated at various...
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...What are the components of good leadership? To be a good leader one must have all the components of a good leader; but what makes a good leader? Socrates in “The Republic” and Machiavelli in “The Prince” both discuss what it takes to make a good leader. One interesting topic discussed by them is the corruption of the people in charge and whether or not in affects the leadership role in a negative or positive way. Another determining factor in leadership skill is whether a woman would be a good leader and whether it matters that the image of a man in charge is what best for society or can women do just as much as men can based on their natural skills. Machiavelli speaks about how “Fortune is a woman” and men must take advantage before they get taken advantage of. One of the other components that make a good leader with good leadership skills is deception and whether to have it or not. Deception in leaders can either be helpful or hurtful to whomever is in charge. While Machiavelli has the perspective of a person being a leader that will do anything by any means necessary to stay in charge is how the Prince should run what he is in charge of. Socrates believes in doing what is right by the people. From what Socrates speaks about, he doesn’t feel like people should be corrupt in being a leader. Justice plays a big role in leadership in his opinion which is why he tries to find out from a few people what their definition of justice is and does a good job in trying to get...
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...how Prince Hamlet of Denmark seeks to and eventually exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius for murdering his father King Hamlet, explores a number of themes, each contributing to the flow of its overall plot in one way or another. Some of the predominant themes in the text include revenge, treachery, deception and gender. The idea of revenge first comes up in the text when the ghost of the dead King Hamlet appears to Prince Hamlet, discloses to the prince that he was murdered by his brother King Claudius and demands that he avenges him. Prince Hamlet agrees to this and even though he is hesitant about fulfilling this, as he struggles with the idea of murder, he finds a solution when a group of actors arrive at Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, and decides to use them to stage a play, with his uncle King Claudius among the audience, about the murder of his father as told to him by the ghost. This was meant to determine Claudius’s guilt or innocence by observing his reaction to the play. As the murder scene was presented, Claudius abruptly rose and left the room where the play was being staged and Prince Hamlet saw this as proof of guilt. Queen Gertrude, Prince Hamlet’s mother who was also among the audience, summoned his son to her closet to demand an explanation. While they were in her closet, Polonius, Claudius’s counselor, who was spying on the scene from behind an arras, cried out for help when it seemed as if the prince was about to murder the queen. When Prince Hamlet...
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...The director’s vision of the production of Die Fledermaus was “revenge in fun is fun”. Specific moments in the play where this was supported were in act one when Falke convinces Eisenstein to go to Prince Orlofsky’s ball. Falke has planned to get revenge on Eisenstein for humiliating him after a party. Falke is having fun plotting his revenge and this is portrayed by Falke’s demeanor toward Eisenstein. Falke is cheerful and excited when he finally convinces Eisenstein to put off jail until morning and go to the ball with him. Another specific moment that revenge is portrayed as fun is when Rosalinda is having fun at the ball flirting with her husband, all the while Eisenstein has no idea this is his wife. She steals his pocket watch so that she can reveal later that it was her that he was flirting with. All of this, revenge on Esinstein, was being done to entertain the Prince. The idea that Falke was getting revenge on Eisenstein while at a ball that was meant to be fun and entertaining is another element that the director was envisioning “revenge in fun is fun”. The director’s concept of an “Austrian pastry” was visually conveyed by the pastel lighting, as well as the light and happy music. The costumes of the characters conveyed fluffy and sweet because of the type of fabric that was used and the colors of the fabrics. Some of the costumes had glitter which brings to mind sugar. The costumes were also bouncy and swingy illustrating “light and fluffy”. The set was brightly...
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...Sierra is madly in love with High Wolf and planned on escaping with him and childhood friend, Prince Alathom, to Scotland where Princess Sierra and High Wolf would marry. However, through a plan of deception, the marriage between Princess Sierra and High Wolf is thwarted and she is forced to give her hand in marriage to Prince Alathom. With the Prince nowhere to be found, Princess Sierra is married to Prince Alathom by proxy and carries out the duties of the Prince in his absence. After 10 years without appearance, Princess Sierra is determined to hunt the Prince down and drag him back to the castle, until she runs into the one man that her heart still belongs to, High Wolf. While remaining steadfast in her mission to find her husband,...
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...In chapters twelve, eighteen, and nineteen, Machiavelli uses the metaphor of the fox and the lion to explain the cunning and strength a prince must possess in order to maintain control of his state. He stresses that it is imperative that the prince learn to mimic both the fox and the lion so that he may draw on the necessary attributes of these "beasts" when circumstances demand it. Again, this notion of comparing man to beast is radical shift during its time as man is being portrayed as a thing of beauty. As a fox, the prince must use its cunning nature to influence statecraft and diplomacy to sidestep traps and other pitfalls posed against the state. As a lion, the prince must employ brute physical force in order to maintain his power over...
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...Deception can drastically change a person in both good ways and bad, but ‘foil’ characters always stay the same, unless… love is involved. Throughout Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare uses ‘foil’ characters to highlight exemplary and corrupt qualities within them. Claudio and Benedick are perfect examples of this, they both question love at different moments in the play, but ultimately find it. The main conflicts that arise are caused by Don John, he creates misunderstandings, villainy, and deception. Deception is the key part of the play that feeds both love and hate, mostly affecting Claudio and Benedick. At the beginning of the play, Claudio is enamoured and Benedick is the complete opposite. For example, “In mine eye she is the sweetest...
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...In Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince he discusses and talks about many topics and problem that arise ruling an empire, throughout the book we see him look at other kings, emperors and Prince over time bring to light their flaws and also their good works as rulers of their people, and showing us how some worked if enforced, other worked naturally and some didn’t work at all. A few of the main themes in the book that Machiavelli points out are Political power, Warcraft, and the people. Political power, throughout the entirety of the book, Machiavelli shows us many different styles and strategies on how to control and expanded political power. The political man must know how and when to be dishonest and to be honest, looking for what the people wanted and what they needed, and seeing which one worked out better and which one was easier. Making sure you were friends with the right people, people that could keep them in power, help them in War times and to expand the empire and to protect it, but if it didn’t work out you destroy it before it’s...
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...Matthew Schopp Professor Mary Frances Heinsohn English 2210.28 9/27/2012 Tartuffe: Not a Christian! Do Not Be Fooled! In the French play Tartuffe, playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière creates a character whose treachery and capacity for evil know no limits. The character named Tartuffe reveals throughout the play that his nature, though seeming to be humble and pious, actually reeks of foul treachery and deception. His pious shell that he wears so pompously, places him among those who exploit the church for their own means by using an exterior false piety. This false piety fools only two characters, yet the effects of the deception nearly deal very harsh consequences. The Oxford English Dictionary defines piety as “the quality of being religious or reverent .” A negative connotation does not usually resound when the topic of piety is discussed. In fact, those who practice piety generally receive higher levels of respect from all. Tartuffe exploits the trust and respect of a French Nobleman named Orgon, having no intentions other than to bring evil schemes to his household. Tartuffe solidifies his title as a villain because of his air of being pious while having no intentions to bring glory to God, only putting on pleasantries to deceive, thus fulfilling the true definition of false piety. Tartuffe makes it very clear that he has devious intentions from his very first scene of play. In act III scene 2 Tartuffe makes his first appearance and is seen very...
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...Running head: THE PRINCE The Prince Book Synopsis ########## University of ##### Dr. ##### #### 16, 20## The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli reveals an interesting perspective of leadership and ethics relating to how a prince should obtain land, control it and maintain it by any means necessary. In this book, Machiavelli provides a clear definition of the different types of states or principalities, recommendation on how to govern these principalities and how to expand a prince’s domain. Furthermore, he explains ways to evaluate the strong points and vulnerabilities of other principalities and concludes with the qualities or characteristics a prince should possess to maintain his status. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this book is the suggestion Machiavelli gives about the characteristics a prince should develop in order to be successful, particularly the idea of responsibility, kindness or compassion, and the concept of trust or faith. This paper will focus on these key characteristics or qualities Machiavelli suggests a prince should possess and compare them with leadership based on character. Character based leadership suggests there is a direct correlation between character, ethics and how leadership is developed. It is based upon seven “classical virtues”, courage, faith, justice, prudence, temperance, love and hope. Each of these virtues describes a certain aspect of character and, when they become...
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...power and the happiness of those around him. Malicious, power-hungry, and bitter about his physical deformity, Richard begins to aspire secretly to the throne—and decides to kill anyone he has to in order to become king. Using his intelligence and his skills of deception and political manipulation, Richard begins his campaign for the throne. He manipulates a noblewoman, Lady Anne, into marrying him—even though she knows that he murdered her first husband. He has his own older brother, Clarence, executed, and shifts the burden of guilt onto his sick older brother King Edward in order to accelerate Edward’s illness and death. After King Edward dies, Richard becomes lord protector of England—the figure in charge until the elder of Edward’s two sons grows up. Next Richard kills the court noblemen who are loyal to the princes, most notably Lord Hastings, the lord chamberlain of England. He then has the boys’ relatives on their mother’s side—the powerful kinsmen of Edward’s wife, Queen Elizabeth—arrested and executed. With Elizabeth and the princes now unprotected, Richard has his political allies, particularly his right-hand man, Lord Buckingham, campaign to have Richard crowned king. Richard then imprisons the young princes in the Tower and, in his bloodiest move yet, sends hired murderers to kill both children. By this time, Richard’s reign of terror has caused the common people of England to fear and loathe him, and he has alienated nearly all the noblemen of the court—even the...
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...five parts, with a first person retrospective narrative, in the same way a Shakespeare play is structured into five acts. The Hazard and Chance families in the novel, including Dora and Nora’s ‘legitimate’ and ‘famous Shakespearian actor of a father,’ Melchior, are all performers. The appearance of twins is a particular link to Shakespeare where this is a common element. This also links to the twins in the Shakespeare play ‘twelfth night’ where Viola dresses as her bother Sebastian producing confusion and comedy for the viewer. This display of deception links to when Dora asks Nora for Nora’s boyfriend for the night and they pretend to be each other and deceive him into thinking he is with Nora. Indeed, deception is a common theme throughout performance: Melchior deceives nearly everyone into thinking that he’s a nice man who’s ‘Our greatest living Shakespearian’ when really, underneath the performance he puts on, he’s really the ‘Prince of players’ and doesn’t really care about his own daughters, only that he’s centre stage. . Dora’s narration makes constant references to performance, music hall and theatre. The opening of the novel ‘welcome to the wrong side of the tracks’ links to performance as it sounds like the standard opening of a play. Also, near the start, we see another link to performance through Dora re-living the ‘memory’ of her birth until she can go on no longer and tells us that ‘everything fades to black’ in the same way...
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...system, so that no one in the order was safe. If there was any opposition, death was imminent and swift. Martin Luther had dedicated himself to the Augustinian order, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimage, and frequent confession. In 1507 he was ordained to the priesthood, and in 1508 he was sent to teach Theology at the newly founded University of Wittenberg, later being called to the position of Doctor in Bible. Martin Luther had started the Reformation with a copy of his Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences�?which came to be known as The Ninety-Five Theses. He had also been initially influenced and financed by Jewish Conspirators but later discovered and exposed their deception, as seen in this quote. 糎e are the Fathers of all Revolutions, even of those which sometimes happen to turn against us. We are the supreme Masters of Peace and War. We can boast of being the Creators of the REFORMATION! Calvin was one of our Children; he was of Jewish descent, and...
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...thickens when the Don John, Brother of Don Pedro, attempts to intervene. Trickery and deceit are central themes and somehow leads to love and romance. Trickery is a large theme in this story. Trickery meaning the practice of deception. Trickery can come in multiple types of form. Whether the intent is in a good or bad manner. In this case Don Pedro and Claudio come up with a plan. The plan was to trick Benedick into falling for Beatrice and vice versa for Beatrice. This act is suppose to be difficult, because Benedick is the type of guy who doesn't believe in marriage and is a bachelor. Coincidentally Beatrice has a similar mind set on marriage. Don Pedro and Claudio were able to achieve this by using leonarto as bait. For example, Then Benedick says, “ I should think this a gull but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it. Knavery cannot, sure, hide himself in such reverence” (2.3.126-128). This quote means if the...
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