Prospero as a Flawed Machiavellian Prince
Prospero as a Flawed Machiavellian Prince The play The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, is centralized around the main protagonist Prospero and his seemingly revengeful plot against his brother Antonio. At the beginning of the play, it is learned that Prospero was once the Duke of Milan; however, he had lost this title to Antonio, who conspired against him and exiled his daughter Miranda and himself to an island leaving them for dead. The political theme present throughout the play is relatable to Machiavelli’s The Prince, which acted as a guide for future rulers. Prospero failed as a Machiavellian Prince as shown by his course of actions that defied several of Machiavelli’s rules and ultimately led to the loss of his dukedom. Prospero was considered to be a humanist and loved by the people of Milan, earning the peoples trust through love not fear. This aspect presented a weak point in Prospero’s dukedom as he was too trusting and loving as a ruler and failed to instil fear in order to secure his power. “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved…” (Machiavelli 43). The quote explains that greater security of power is achieved through being a feared leader rather than a loved one. The aspect of fear is important in ensuring that the state remains loyal and obedient towards the leader, which reduces the risk of conspiracy to overthrow that power. As expressed from this quote, “…I thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated/ To closeness and the bettering of my mind/ With that which, but by being so retired/ O’erprized all popular rate in my false brother…” (Shakespeare 10), Prospero was extremely immersed in his studies and books to betterment his mind. Although this practice was beneficial in obtaining greater