In the 16th century, Niccolo Machiavelli stated in "The Prince" that leadership comes mainly from the theater. In other words, to be a good leader, you must first be a good actor, or at the very least be convincing enough to gain the loyalty of the people. At a time when the political situation of his kingdom was so precarious, when the people were so divided and opposed to each other, it is not surprising that King Henry IV would be so concerned by his son's apparent lack of leadership . He was, however, completely unaware of the manipulative and devious nature of Prince Hal, who had his own plan to win the love of the people. Although his character may seem to be undergoing severe development, Prince Hal (and the future Henry V) instead played the various roles that his subjects and his father needed him to do, being one of the most static characters in the entire series. tetralogy. Through Prince Hal, Shakespeare explores the idea of ​​a Machiavellian prince, more focused on the theatricality of politics in order to achieve what he desires. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the first and second parts of Henry IV, the reader “sees” Hal becoming the future king, the one meant to unite all of England. . When he is first introduced, he is (according to his father) a debauchee, an ungrateful brat, who has hung out with the worst kind of people a prince could hang out with. His closest friend is, after all, the most corrupt and amoral character in the entire tetralogy. He is shown gambling, planning a robbery, hanging out with prostitutes, and drinking with his idiot friends at a tavern. This creates a dramatic contrast with the Harry the reader meets in “Henry V,” the king who inspires his soldiers with his rousing speech to go “once more into the breach.” It would seem that the character development will sink into the very soul of the prince, to make him honorable and worth following. It would seem so to everyone, inspiring even those who can see the wild Prince transformed into a worthy King, if it were not for the following speech: I know you all, and I will support for a moment / Humor without yoke of your idleness. ./ Yet here I will imitate the sun,/ Who allows the vile and contagious clouds/ To smother his beauty from the world,/ So that when it pleases him to become himself again,/ Being sought after, he can be more astonished/ By piercing the filthy and ugly mists/ Of the vapors which seem to strangle him./ If we played on vacation all year round,/ Sport would be as tedious as work,/ But when they come rarely, they wanted to come,/ And nothing pleases except rare accidents./ So, when I get rid of this cowardly behavior/ And pay the debt I never promised,/ By how much better I am than my word,/ Therefore I will falsify the hopes of men; / And like a shiny metal on a sullen ground, / My reform, sparkling on my fault, / Will show itself more prettily and attract more glances / Than that which has no leaf to highlight it. I will offend so much, make offense a skill, / Redeem the time when men will least think of it. (1.2.202-224) Here Prince Hal begins to demonstrate that not only is he not the dishonorable man the world thinks him to be, but rather he is playing this role to appear even more handsome in as king. While this is incredibly manipulative, Prince Hal has various reasons that validate this manipulation: his father is a usurper and there is civil unrest in the country. He needs the loyalty of his people, he needs them to trust and value him so that they don't try to dethrone him one day..