Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Machiavel archetype - Coggle Diagram
Machiavel archetype
-
Tony and Sal are reimagings of Antonio and Sebastian from the play, colliding with Shakepeare’s The Tempest.
Satirical visual image of the politicians posing for a photo “chests out teeth on display”, “jostling for the most prominent position”, employs the motif of performance to characterise Tony and Sal.
EXAMPLE 1: “jostling for the most prominent position”,
characterised as having a superficial preoccupation with maintaining an image of them being loyal, devoted public servants who uphold the welfare of the community.
CONTEXT: echoes Postmodern theorist Baudrillard who argues that the media can actively distort the truth for political purposes, creating stylised misrepresentations of reality.
-
-
EXAMPLE 2: “We two, my lord, will guard your person…and watch your safety”.
Shakespeare extends this conversation on Machiavel through Antonio’s friendly vow to protect Alonzo “We two, my lord, will guard your person…and watch your safety”.
Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony, juxtaposing Antonio’s performative good will with his cunning temptation of Sebastian, “see thy crown dropping upon thy head”, illustrates to the audience the way in which he is presenting himself as being trustworthy but this is juxtaposed to reality.
-
Shakespeare creates the motif of performance, echoing Renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon, who argues that “cunning men pass for wise”, warning against the callous nature of Machiavellian opportunism. The audience sees the emergence of the Machiavel archetype through the characters of Antonio and Sebastian.
-
RESONANCES emerge in the characterisation of the Machiavel archetype within The Tempest and Hagseed.
Reflecting her context as Postmodernist, Atwood reimagines the motif of performance through drawing attention to the villainous nature of 21st century politicians who adopt a performance of self-serving illusions.