Analysis Of Prince Hal

Hal is a cold, calculating Machiavellian ruler. According to Machiavelli’s popular theory, being a successful leader has nothing to do with being a nice person or doing the right thing. Instead, it’s about being inventive, manipulative, crafty, and willful. Hal is an intelligent character who put all those attributes to work when he articulated a grand plan to fool everyone around him in order to gain power. One critic claims that traditionally there are two common ways to interpret Prince Hal's development. The first is to see it as a celebration of a great king in training who grows in his responsibility and develops into a mature political leader. The second view sees Prince Hal as a cold Machiavel who uses his friends as means to a political end, without much regard for their feelings. (Johnston 1).
Hal understands that those of high birth have a greater responsibility to be honorable. The jealousy that comes with the persistent protection of one’s honor is a characteristic seen in almost every noble figure, but Hal’s attitude toward honor is different than those around him- especially Hotspur. Unlike Hotspur, who serves the code of honor, Hal intends to abuse it by postponing his acquisition of honor so that when he eventually attains it his reputation will seem greater than it would’ve originally.
To Hal, reputation is but a mere disguise that can be improved. Hal is simply going to use Hotspur to redeem his own reputation. His plan to exploit dishonor for advantage is evidence of how manipulating he can be in order to get what he wants. Instead of considering honor as a precious ideal to which life itself must be sacrificed, Hal sees an honorable reputation as a useful political commodity, and he intends to exploit appear...

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...r classes in order to use these newly acquired talents in politics and the battlefield. Like his father, he bends the rules to his will and masters the skill of performing as the situation changes. His first soliloquy reveals that he wants to make his mark on the political scene. Hal knows that his famous return to royalty will appear extraordinary because he has been socializing in the badlands. Hal’s soliloquy also tells us that he knows the vital quality of the powerful leader is theatrical: the ability to put on a dazzling and surprising public performance. He is devoted to gaining ultimate power, unable to share with anyone else. He only acquires his power and success through manipulation. He uses everyone in his life as a means to an end. His crafty and inventive way of thinking about society made him successful. He is a cold, calculating Machiavellian ruler.