Ribner's 'Bolingbroke, A True Machiavellian'

1415 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How macbeths fluctuate between power

According to Irving Ribner, author of “Bolingbroke, A True Machiavellian,” Bolinbroke epitomizes the perfect “Machiavellian leader,” who is charismatic, wilful, loved by the masses, manipulative, and opportunistic. Shakespeare’s political representation of Bolingbroke in the eyes of the people follows true Machiavellian philosophy. The gardeners’ comment that Bolingbroke has the support of his “English peers,” which “weighs King Richard II down” (3.4. 90). Unlike Richard II, Bolingbroke has earned the trust and hearts of the people of England, which is an important characteristic of a good ruler and an important political move according to Machiavelli. Machiavelli writes in The Prince:
He who becomes ruler with the aid of the great maintains himself with more difficulty than he who becomes ruler with the aid of the people, because the first is in the position of a prince with a good …show more content…

The act begins with Bolingbroke executing Bushy and Green, under his own authority, for misleading the king as his advisor, which demonstrates a clear shift in power from Richard II to Bolingbroke. As Bolingbroke reveals his kingly strength and threatens the throne, Richard II is angered, but not fearful. Richard II believes that his kingship entitled by his birthright and as an elected official of God, the heavens will protect him: “God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay / A glorious angel. Then if angels fight, / Weak men must fall; for heaven still guards the right” (3.2.56-57). In the quote, Shakespeare presents the childish character of Richard II through his naïve assumptions of divine intervention. Richard II places all his faith in religion and God, calling upon “angels” to put down the rebellion, but he dismisses the power of raising an army. As a result, he is better at playing a king instead of being a king and guarding against his threatened

Show More
Related

  • Comparison of King Richard III and Looking for Richard

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare constructs King Richard III to perform his contextual agenda, or to perpetrate political propaganda in the light of a historical power struggle, mirroring the political concerns of his era through his adaptation and selection of source material. Shakespeare’s influences include Thomas More’s The History of King Richard the Third, both constructing a certain historical perspective of the play. The negative perspective of Richard III’s character is a perpetuation of established Tudor history, where Vergil constructed a history intermixed with Tudor history, and More’s connection to John Morton affected the villainous image of the tyrannous king. This negative image is accentuated through the antithesis of Richards treachery in juxtaposition of Richmond’s devotion, exemplified in the parallelism of ‘God and Saint George! Richmond and victory.’ The need to legitimize Elizabeth’s reign influenced Shakespeare’s portra...

    Read More

  • Providentialism In King Richard III

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    The undeniable pursuit for power is Richard’s flaw as a Vice character. This aspect is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s play King Richard III through the actions Richard portrays in an attempt to take the throne, allowing the audience to perceive this as an abhorrent transgression against the divine order. The deformity of Richards arm and back also symbolically imply a sense of villainy through Shakespeare’s context. In one of Richard’s soliloquies, he states how ‘thus like the formal Vice Iniquity/ I moralize two meanings in one word’. Through the use of immoral jargons, Shakespeare emphasises Richard’s tenacity to attain a sense of power. However, Richard’s personal struggle with power causes him to become paranoid and demanding, as demonstrated through the use of modality ‘I wish’ in ‘I wish the bastards dead’. This act thus becomes heavily discordant to the accepted great chain of being and conveys Richard’s consumption by power.

    Read More

  • Richard III Villain Quotes

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I am determined to prove a villain / and hate the idle pleasures of these days. / Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, / by drunken prophecies, libels and dreams.” Richard III, the evil Duke of Gloucester, is fighting a bloody road to the crown in Shakespeare's dramatic play. Stopped by nothing and with brilliant intelligence, Richard fights his way to the king’s position, clothing his villany with “old odd ends stolen out of holy writ.” With no one to fully trust, Richard breaks many hearts by killing all people in his way, and becomes the unstoppable villain. He hides behind a shield of kindness and care, but when he is alone, his real soul comes alive. Sending murderers, or killing people himself, he has no mercy. Manipulating Lady Anne to marry him and promising Buckingham rewards for his deeds, he knows what he is doing, and won’t stop until the crown lies at his feet.

    Read More

  • Richard Ii - Silence Is The Plot

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Mine honor is my life, both grow in one, Take honor from me, and my life is done. Then, dear my liege, mine honor let me try; In that I live, and for that I will die." (I.i) These passages indirectly state that King Richard II is at fault for the death of his uncle. But for the reader to see this they must break down the play and search for those "hidden meanings".For the ordinary reader, who does not search, the text clearly states that the fight for innocence is distinctly between Bullingbrook and Mowbray. Such an example can be found in Act I: "Bull: That he [Mowbray] did plot the Duke of Gloucester's death,Suggest his soon-believing adversaries,And consequently, like a traitor coward,Sluic'd his innocent soul through streams of blood." The rest of the dialogue converses back and forth between Bullingbrook and Mowbray, each fighting for their own innocence.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Thrasymachus' Argument in The Republic

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will argue that the characters have good reason to accept the first premise because rulers must be stronger than their subjects or else they wouldn't have reached the position of ruler. And if there is a case where a subject is stronger than the ruler himself, then the ruler can easily quiet that particular subject using the powers he has been given as a ruler.

    Read More

  • Despots in the Age of Enlightment

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although it is often argued that rulers such as Joseph II, Catherin II, and Frederick II were motivated to instate enlightened principles; oftentimes, these rulers were slaves to the ideals of despotism, where the preeminent goal was to obtain more power. Indeed it may be a legitimate claimed that these rulers realized the greatness of Enlightenment ideas; however, since most of their reigns were spent preserving dominance over their people, it is safe to say that these individuals may have been more dedicated to serving their own self-interests.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Humility of Kings in Shakespeare's Richard II through Henry V

    2383 Words  | 5 Pages

    King Richard II is Shakespeare's example of a king who removes himself from the reality of the common people. Richard views his position as a source of amusement. His "cares" as King, other than an opportunity for an agreeable audience, are merely a burden. Instead of investigating the accusations of treachery from Henry and Mawbrick, he exiles both men as an easy way out. Richard was born a King, and knows no life other than that of royalty. Unfortunately the lesson that must know men to rule them costs him the thrown. Richard's lesson influences his usurper and his usurper's heir to the thrown, demonstrating to them both the value of humility.

    Read More

  • Virtue And Fortune In Prince

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    When a private individual becomes a ruler, he will need both his inner skills and a good chance to show them. The relationship of fortune and the virtù will bring him the success. Without a chance, the skills will not find a way to show them while gaining the power, and without the skills, given chance can not be used effectively for a long time.

    Read More

  • A Hero, a King, and a Daemon

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... bloody pathway to kingship. Filled with scorn against a society that rejects him and nature that curses him with a weakened body, Richard decides to take revenge and ultimately declares a war between himself and the world. By achieving goals for the mere sake of self-advancement, a self-made hero, an ambitious king, and an atrocious villain were created. Richard assumes that love forms a bond which men can break, but fear is supported by the dread of ever-present pain (Machiavelli ch. XXIV); thus, for true success the hero must be a villain too. Richard III becomes one of literature’s most recognized anti-heroes under the hands of Shakespeare as he has no objective or thought to take up any other profession than the art of hatred; however, ironically being a representative of a heroic ruler sent by God, he is made to commit murder to redeem society of their sins.

    Read More

  • The Evil of Richard the Third

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The task which Shakespeare undertook was to mold the hateful constitution of Richard's Moral; character. Richard had to contend with the prejudices arising from his bodily deformity which was considered an indication of the depravity and wickedness of his nature. Richard's ambitious nature, his elastic intellect, and his want of faith in goodness conspire to produce his tendency to despise and degrade every surrounding being and object, even as his own person. He is never sincere except when he is about to commit a murder.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare on Machiavelli: The Prince in Richard III

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    He breeds anger in Clarence and the populace, not of himself, but of Edward and the rightful heirs.  "We are not safe, Clarence, we are not safe,"3 he exclaims as his brother is hauled away to the tower. He preys on the "hateful luxury And bestial appetite"4 of the citizenry, catapulting himself to the thrown over a heap of bodies: deaths that hang on his head.  But, it is Richard's attitude that his end goal of the crown justifies the murderous means that so closely links ...

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's list of virtues

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Compassion, like generosity is also admired. But a ruler must be careful that he does not show compassion unwisely. A new ruler has to be cruel initially, because being a new ruler is full of d...

    Read More

  • Richard II Essay: The Characters of Bolingbroke and Richard II

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is a prime example of Richard using his authority by way of rulings and pronouncements rather than action, even to the point of disallowing an action. Bolingbroke, on the other hand, is quite ready to do battle no matter what the consequences. Moments before Richard puts a stop to the proceedings, Bolingbroke says, ". . . let no noble eye profane a tear / For me, if I be gorged with Mowbray's spear" (1.3.58-59). Here is a man who is resolved in his intent.

    Read More

  • Political Science And Philosophy: The Nature Of Human Nature

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...s Prince should know what to do and should do what is needed. Philosopher kings are willing to make the necessary sacrifices because it is for the good of state. Both philosophers realized that it is necessary for a ruler to have complete power in and both agreed that a virtue is needed to create a good state and without virtue each and every state will fail.

    Read More

  • How Does Shakespeare Make A Good King

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    Richard discerns the strategies Bolingbroke uses to win the favor of the people. He describes Bolingbroke as using reverence on slaves, “wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles,” taking off his bonnet to an “oysterwench,” kneeling to draymen and flattering them with “thanks, my countrymen, my loving friends” (1.4.28-35). The favor Henry courts from the people causes Richard to state that Bolingbroke behaves “as were our England in reversion his, / And he our subjects’ next degree in hope” (1.4.36-37). Accordingly, Richard is relieved to have a reason to banish Bolingbroke from England.

    Read More

More about Ribner's 'Bolingbroke, A True Machiavellian'

Open Document