Machiavelli's The Prince. Literature & Language Essay (Essay Sample)

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The Prince: Literary Analysis
Introduction
Niccolò Machiavelli composed The Prince to serve as a practical guide for ruling a monarch. He explores what makes a good leader and what a good leader should do for them to attain a grasp of power and retain it. Machiavelli employs the use of the figures of speech such as symbolism and antiquity to convey his guidance on how a ruler should act for him to be loved or feared in the bid to grasp and retain power.
Symbolism and Imagery
Machiavelli makes a contrast of the human versus the beast. He associates humanity with being good law-abiding citizens and links bestiality with raw force and power. Machiavelli advocates that the ruler can bend the law a little and utilize their animal-like side to attract fear from the followers.
Machiavelli employs imagery and symbolism in linking the relationship between lions and foxes. He points out that a ruler has to be a part an animal. The leader has the option of choosing the nature of the animal he wished to attain. Various animals have distinct attributes that enable them to survive in the jungle (Fott 6). Machiavelli advocates that the leader should be a lion and a fox at the same time. Lions are perceived to be proud and regal. On the contrary, foxes are associated with running things behind the scenes. They are slick and suave. A leader should equally strive to be as sly as the fox. However, the lion should strive to have the nature of both the lion and the fox. The aspect of the lion in the leader would ensure that the leader can defend himself against any possible wolves. The leader has to assume the nature of the fox so that he can see the snares and be a lion so that he can scare off the wolves.