Machiavelli's ideal prince and Dante's morality

Essay Instructions:

Instructions Politics, Society, and Morality in the European Middle Ages and Renaissance This fourth essay assignment asks you to think about the assigned works by Dante, Chaucer, and Machiavelli. For this essay, you may only reference these specific works, though some minor citation and use of secondary sources is allowed. Since this is a close-reading essay, however, please use secondary sources only sparingly. Be sure to focus your essay on a strong thesis, organize it around a few specific main points, and support your response with evidence from the text or texts you are discussing, especially quotations, as you respond to one (1) of the following prompts: In the selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that we have read, we have encountered two different Alisouns, the Alisoun of “The Miller's Tale,” and the Wife of Bath, whose first name is also Alisoun. Create an argument that in some way compares and contrasts these two Alisouns. You might consider them in terms of how they engage with and/or control the men in their lives, or perhaps bring in the ideas of another author we have read by, for instance, making an argument about what circle of hell Dante would assign them to, or what Machiavelli might say about their methods of governance. Be sure to use direct evidence from all of the texts that you discuss. Consider the current political situation in the United States, particularly the way that politicians are behaving during the ongoing election cycle. Choose two specific politicians and create an argument comparing them in terms of how well they fit Machiavelli's model of an ideal prince. Support your thesis with passages from The Prince and with specific details from these politicians' careers. Discuss Machiavelli's ideal prince, who is essentially an amoral pragmatist, in terms of Dante's morality. Would the sort of behaviors Machiavelli advises be hell-worthy in Dante's worldview? Be sure to support your response with passages from both works. Think about Chaucer's “The Knight's Tale” in terms of Machiavellian pragmatism. Can we see the behavior of Chaucer's ruler, Theseus, as lining up with Machiavelli's recommendations for effective governance? Why or why not? Be sure to support your response with passages from both works. Make your own topic: come up with your own critical question about the assigned works from this unit, and write an essay arguing for your answer to that question. If you choose to do this prompt, please note that you are required to post your critical question and working thesis to the Week 12 Essay forum so that you can receive feedback from your instructor and classmates. Make sure to support your claim primarily through quotations from the texts specified; use outside sources only sparingly. Please be sure your essay also meets the following guidelines: Has a word count of 600-900 words (check with your instructor before submitting anything longer) Includes the student-teacher cover letter Format the essay using MLA essay format (see the attached sample essay) and MLA-style citations, including a works cited list at the end; for help with MLA format, please visit Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online Spell check, and watch out for homonyms!

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Machiavelli's ideal prince and Dante's morality In his book, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli has explored in great detail the princely behaviors that noble rulers who govern principalities must manifest in order to be effective. Although Machiavelli emphasizes such traditional values as honesty, bravery and prudence in his presentation of the ideal prince, he greatly stresses the idea that preservation of both the state and the prince ought to take precedence above every other thing. Machiavelli goes ahead and outlines extremes that a prince ought to go to in order to ensure the preservation of the state and his position, thereby giving rise to profound moral concerns. The princely behavior he advocates for includes conducts that are both moral and immoral and hence, creates a prince who is an amoral pragmatist. Based on the morality of Dante, some of the behaviors Machiavelli advocates for can be considered to be immoral and hell-worthy. It is against this background that this paper seeks to discuss the ideal prince as presented by Machiavelli based on the morality of Dante. The paper will also employ the worldview of Dante to establish whether the ways advised by Machiavelli are hell-worthy. As aforementioned Machiavelli advocates for an ideal prince who is an amoral pragmatist, that is, an individual who engages in both moral and immoral actions in pursuit of power and the preservation of both his position and the state. For instance, Machiavelli observes that there exist two types of combat that a prince should use "one with laws, the other with force"; law is for the people and force for beasts. He adds that since "the first is often not enough", the prince "must have recourse to the second" (Machiavelli 69). This advice reiterates the need for the ideal prince to use force to advance his cause and affirm his authority within the principality. Consequently, the use of force by the state through the prince may lead to commission of such immoral actions as execution, murder or even injury of those who challenge the prince. This view contradicts Dante`s morality which draws a line between immoral and moral actions. Dante observes that immoral actions lead to sin which is punishable. However, Dante is quick to add that sin is only punishable when one fails to seek divine forgiveness through penance and repentance (Reade 1). In acquiring a principality, Machiavelli observes that an ideal prince ought to despoil some inhabitants by taking their belongings to impoverish them an...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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