"Machiavelli's Ironies: The Language of Praise and Blame in the Prince" by Erica Benner
Erica Benner's "Machiavelli's Ironies: The Language of Praise and Blame in the Prince" is an easily accessible work, meant for anyone, that begins by praising the virtues of what is now "traditional" Machiavellianism-- setting aside normal moral boundaries for political gain. However, Benner goes on to explain that early readers of The Prince did not necessarily view Machiavelli's work as literal, instead interpreting it as ironic-- meant to lure Princes toward creating their own demise. Benner goes on to detail many contradictions in Machiavelli's work, examining whether or not he could have supported two seemingly contradictory thoughts simultaneously. Her interpretations raise the question of whether modern society has been misinterpreting Machiavelli's standpoint on politics for centuries. Benner reveals that, when read from a viewpoint of dissimulation (a type of ironic writing more present during Machiavelli's time), The Prince seems much more coherent, especially within the context of discussions in many of the book's chapters labeled "discourses." Benner further examines leaders like Ferdinand and Hiero that Machiavelli discussed, and both their short and long impacts on their country. She concludes by determining that backers of Machiavellian Realism advocate it without the support of its spokesman, who "ironically exposed its fallacies." (83)
Source:
Benner, Erica. "Machiavelli’s Ironies: The Language of Praise and Blame in The Prince." Social Research: An International Quarterly 81 (2014): 61-84. Web.
Source:
Benner, Erica. "Machiavelli’s Ironies: The Language of Praise and Blame in The Prince." Social Research: An International Quarterly 81 (2014): 61-84. Web.
"The End of Discourse in Machiavelli's "Prince"" by Thomas. M. Greene
In "The End of Discourse in Machiavelli's 'Prince'," Thomas Greene is a highbrow scholarly document analyzing the "endings" in The Prince and their simultaneously violent, disastrous, and immediate fresh beginnings. Greene starts with a summary of Machiavelli's early precepts, including the idea that nations can either be broken up into principalities or republics. Greene's analysis of Machiavelli continues with examinations of Proemio in Book 1 of the Discourses. Further, Greene discusses how the ideas of "analysis leading to precept is progressively abandoned in the last third of the book," (64) examining the gradual increase of historical contradictions without qualification from history. Therefore, as Greene states, politics cannot be mastered as a science but must be intuited as an art beyond rules. Greene analyzes how Machiavelli's The Prince deteriorates from dogmatism, to qualification, to contradiction, and finally to surrender before contingency, examining the twenty-sixth chapter as one "not free from a degree of self-deception." (69) Critical of The Prince's deterioration, Greene states that The Prince denied itself of any meaningful statement. Greene concludes by determining Machiavelli's work as one "...improvisatory, groundless, metamorphic, [and] fictive." (71)
Source:
Greene, Thomas M. "The End of Discourse in Machiavelli's "Prince"" Yale French Studies No. 67.Concepts of Closure (1984): 57-71. JSTOR. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
Source:
Greene, Thomas M. "The End of Discourse in Machiavelli's "Prince"" Yale French Studies No. 67.Concepts of Closure (1984): 57-71. JSTOR. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.