Shakespeare's Hamlet is not simply a morality play surrounding a prince driven mad by grief; is a complex study of the political maneuvers described by Machiavelli. “The rules of this politics, Machiavelli's political science, then, are the choreographed moves, countermoves and tricks that give life to the actions of the new successful prince and others.” (Tarlton, 8) Many literary critics approach Machiavelli from the perspective of good versus evil. Machiavelli was neither; he was a realist. Machiavelli recorded his analysis of the events he studied or observed, and from there he derived his principles of political science. In this article, the reader will explore Shakespeare's use of Machiavellian politics (as depicted in The Prince) within the script of Hamlet. Hamlet's world involves jealousy, murder, family relationships (and their internal struggles), and political intrigue. “All the world's a stage,” wrote Shakespeare; what we see in the theater is simply a truer reflection of our lives. “Being within the field of action and never above it, there is only so much a state-seeking actor [the state, referring to the prince's creation of a state] will ever discover. The fiction of the new prince [the new prince] is a tool to project one's position as an actor in political situations." (Breiner, 3, 30) In Hamlet we will observe the following Machiavellian principles: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay the political intrigues that fuel the tension in the game the new enemy of the prince, created by the actions of the prince himself the realization of hidden conspiracies and the deceptions used both to create and reveal them the role of the characters in the play as actors within of its own subplots the hidden personal motivations that drive individual characters Although Hamlet begins the play as a somewhat naïve prince, he soon acquires a political cunning and theatrical skill that rivals even the actor who plays the part of Hamlet. Hamlet must walk a razor-thin line between deception and truth, action and inaction, love and hate. His agonizing journey along this razor's edge crystallizes his purpose: to avenge his father's death. Shakespeare sets the stage with a classic example from Machiavelli's political philosophy. In Act I, scene 2, we learn of the death of the king of Denmark and the queen's subsequent marriage to her brother Claudius (1638: 1-15). The old king, who came to power by right of succession, was replaced by Claudius. Claudius moves quickly to consolidate power by marrying the queen. "Because men are conquered by the present more than by the past", it is logical for him to do so. (Tarlton, 3) The marriage takes place within two months of the king's death, "But dead two months! No, not so long, not two," says Hamlet (1641: 138). Claudius continues the Danish tradition of a wedding feast followed by a night of drunken revelry (1641: 125). The new king's political moves serve to highlight the Machiavellian aspects of the play: "Machiavelli really cares when the crown prince is overthrown, the new prince is born, and the new political world, full of danger, comes to life." (Tarlton, 2) Claudius, as the new king, has already created a fearsome enemy for himself, Prince Hamlet. The hasty remarriage of Hamlet's mother, the queen, is a moral outrage against Hamlet and violates Machiavelli's restriction in chapter 17 of The Prince: "He [the prince] can very well bear to be feared, while he is not hated , which will always be the case as long as he abstains from his family's goodscitizens and subjects and their women." (1494) By taking his brother's wife as his own, Claudius has given Hamlet a powerful reason to hate him, in addition to Hamlet's all-consuming grief (1640:85). "The same situation that gives him gives [Claudio] the opportunity to act also provides his adversaries with a new opportunity to take away his state." (Breiner, 2) In Act I, scene 5, Hamlet learns from his father's ghost: "The serpent that stung Your father's life now wears his crown." The ghost reveals what Hamlet already felt to be true: the murder of the former king by his brother Claudius (1651:38), seeing the truth of the "mistake" that he has heard, he is convinced that he must avenge his father's death "Hasten me to know, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or thoughts of love, can sweep towards my vengeance... O my prophetic soul! My uncle!" (1651: 30-40) The reader is now involved in a complex Machiavellian conspiracy, in which Shakespeare makes extensive use of Machiavelli's precept: "He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived. " (1496) Hamlet's realization of the deception employed by his uncle, however, wearies him at the ghost's message. Hamlet no longer trusts appearances; knowing that his uncle is carrying out a great deception, he is not sure whether the ghost is honest or not, Hamlet no longer trusts anyone, not even Polonius, the chief advisor, who "to be honest, as the world goes, is to be a man chosen from ten thousand" (1662: 174) . friends, "My two schoolfellows, whom I will trust as a fanged viper..." (1692:203) At the Danish court, Claudius managed to deceive his brother, hiding his lust for power (and his his lust for queen) behind a smiling face and lying lips Claudio also manages to deceive the entire court regarding his brother's death he is the only courtier who senses something is wrong: "I doubt [to perceive] any foul; I wish the night would come! In the eyes of men evil deeds shall arise, though all the earth shall submerge them." (1644: 260)"The third stage of princely action requires that the prince feign; a moving or invisible target is the most difficult to hit." (Tarlton, 7) The importance of this skill to Hamlet is found in chapter 18 of The Prince, where Machiavelli writes: "everyone sees what you seem to be; few experience what you truly are." (1497) The art of feigning success must be taught to nobles, especially in the realm of fencing. Fencing was a skill required of nobility in the era before firearms; those who they wished to avoid The assassin's blade was as skilled in the hall as he was in the council chamber Hamlet decides to use his deceptive ploy to discover the truth about his father's death. Furthermore, he intends to use his affected madness as an excuse for his eventual revenge Claudius. (1647:170) Hamlet knows that "the actions of friends and enemies will be based on what they believe the prince to be." grief-stricken, he lost his mind and, in a fit of rage, killed his uncle. Hamlet expands and intensifies his deception with the arrival of the theater troupe, creates a play within his own play, within the overall work “The thing is the play, wherein I will cause the king's conscience to be caught,” said Hamlet (1671:552). The action within the play of Hamlet reflects the actual events of the former king's death; the words he wrote to accompany the action scene are intended to provoke a response from Claudio's guilty conscience. "For murder, though it hath no tongue, will speak... I will make the actors act something like the murder of my father before my uncle; I will observe his countenance; if he but pale, I know my way," (1671 :540-552) says>.