This essay is a position paper that focuses on the use of power in the Shakespearian play “Richard the III”. You will use the concepts explored in your reading of Machiavelli in your text to help form your position. This essay should be no more than 1200 Words and must include a properly formatted Works Cited page and properly formatted in-text citations. You should have at least two sources, a copy of the play “Richard the III” and your text’s version of Machiavelli’s “The Prince”. You are free to use other sources, but your source usage and the amount of space they take up in your essay should not exceed 35% of your total essay material. The remaining portions of your essay should be dedicated to analysis and structuring.
You do not want to try to cover the entire play, nor should you try to cover all of the points offered in Machiavelli in relation to acquiring and maintaining power. You want to find a very tight focus and give a more nuanced analysis. I suggest you follow the basic steps below for each major point that you make.
Find one instance of acquiring, using, losing, OR abusing Political Power within the play.
Briefly identify that moment and the dynamics of the powers at play.
Identify some aspect of Machiavellian theory that is either proven or challenged in this moment of power.
Briefly identify that Machiavellian concept.
Explain how that Machiavellian concept is demonstrated in that moment of power within the play.
Explain how this use of Machiavellian concepts is both positive AND negative in relation to Power. Explore both here.
This should be the bulk of one body paragraph.
Repeat these steps 2-3 times to form a thread of Power and Machiavellian theory throughout your essay. Each new body paragraph should discuss a new section of the play, but you are free to keep using the same aspect of Machiavellian theory, so long as you are arriving at different observations for each point in the play.
When you have several moments of power discussed in play, you will want to come to some form of conclusion for your reader. This conclusion should answer the following question “By understanding Machiavelli and seeing it demonstrated in Shakespeare’s “Richard the III”, and applying this understanding to our contemporary political climate [2020 America], what conclusions might we draw about our own time in relation to Political Power?”
This final point of critical thinking will form the bases if your introduction and your conclusion.
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