A Comparison of Shakespeares Prince Hamlet and...

A Comparison of Prince Hamlet and Machiavellis The Prince Machiavelli states that it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case. Machiavellis ideas both compare and contrast to the methods used by Hamlet. Hamlets desire to drive the king mad and eventually kill him, is what he thinks he must do in order to set things right. Hamlet struggles to maintain his position as prince. Perhaps he lacks the essential qualities of a prince outlined by Machiavelli. According to Machiavelli, the pursuit of all things regarded as virtuous and praiseworthy will only lead to the princes ruin. This†¦show more content†¦I know not seems. Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, nor customary suits of solemn black . . . Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, that can denote me truly. These indeed seem, for they are actions that a man might play; but I have that within which passes show, these but the trappings and the suits of woe. (Hamlet, I, ii., 76-86) Hamlet tells her in this quote, that his feelings are true, and that he does in fact grieve for his father. His outward self is just like his inward self. He reveals this again later, in his first soliloquy, when he shows his disgust for the seeming world, in which everything is weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. (Hamlet, I, ii., 133) Hamlet must soon come to disregard his sense of morality in order to save himself, and he does, proving the second part of Machiavellis quote: Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good ... The first signs of this appear when the players arrive at the court. He shows that he can learn how not to be good, when he uses the first players skill to his advantage. He asks the player You could study a speech of some dozen or sixteen lines, which I would set down and insert int, couldnt you? (Hamlet, II, ii., 534-536) The player then agrees that he will insert the speech written by Hamlet into his own speech, on the night of the play. In his soliloquy, Hamlet mentions how he will use the players acting