Parallels between The Prince and Measure for MeasureThe parallels between Machiavelli's The Prince and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure are significant. The vast majority of the characters in Measure for Measure - the Duke, Angelo, Claudio, Pompey and even Isabella - display Machiavellian qualities. A comparison of key passages, both from The Prince and Measure for Measure, will clearly demonstrate this. A study of kingship, arguably the entire premise of Measure for Measure, is immediately introduced in the first scene, with the Duke's statement "Of the government the properties to be deployed / It would seem to me that they affect speech and discourse." However, it is not until the third scene of the first act that this political discussion becomes specific and, ultimately, linked to the Machiavellian notion of the art of government. In this scene, which details the exchange between Vincentio and the brother, we learn the reasons why the former replaced Angelo. The Duke's two significant dialogues – I.iii.20-33 and I.iii.36-55 – reveal that over the past fourteen years the "strict statutes and the most biting laws" (I.iii.20 ) punishing the accused -Marital relations have fallen into disuse. While this scene is by no means exhaustive, it provides the reader with plenty of food for thought. Vincentio's Machiavellianism, as manifested in the scene above, centers on three main elements: his previous laxity, his current need to deflect responsibility, and his use of Angelo as an instrument to enforce this "law." more severe”. Upon closer examination, both Measure for Measure and The Prince, we discern that the apparent negligence in the Duke's initial non-enforcement of the law may not really be negligence at all, but rather. ..... middle of paper. ....couples) is profoundly Machiavellian. Not only does Vincentio hide his knowledge of Claudio's safety from Isabella, he uses it in an impressive display of showmanship, specifically designed to evoke a kind of mystical awe in all the spectators (including Isabella, whom he asks later in marriage). The Duke has clearly improved his reputation through the "spectacular acts" Machiavelli speaks of in his Prince, "[finding] a way to punish or reward [...] which will certainly be much talked about." » BIBLIOGRAPHY Shakespeare, William: Measure for Measure, ed. Brian Gibbons, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Machiavelli, Niccolò: The Prince in Machiavelli: The Leader of the Works and Others, vol. 1, trans. Allan Gilbert, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1989 Machiavelli, Niccolò: The Prince, trans. George Bull, London: Penguin, 1995.