Machiavellian Characters In The Spanish Tragedy

In both The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd, and The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, by Christopher Marlowe (hereafter called Edward II), Machiavellian characters are present. In The Spanish Tragedy, Lorenzo has Machiavellian characteristics, and in Edward II Mortimer junior gets the role. To see how they are Machiavellian, it is best to look at some characteristics of Machiavellian heroes or villains, and then at how Mortimer and Lorenzo fit the bill for these characteristics, and how alike they are, with special interest in the kind of power they portray. The Machiavellian character – could be both hero and villain – has certain defining characters. It is important to see that there are different degrees of Machiavellianism

All of Mortimer’s manipulation seems to point in the general direction of his plan: he wants to gain more power through queen Isabella (Lynch xxiv). They behave like lovers early on in the play, while Isabella still supports the king: she says “Sweet Mortimer” to Mortimer (I.iv.225), and later “Sweet husband” to the king (II.ii.36). One of the ways in which he uses the queen to gain more power is to become protector of her son, king Edward III, and have no one in higher stature than they have (Marlowe V.iv.62-64). He was happy to be the protector of Edward III, because that would imply that he had the station of a king, which is a high station in terms of power – which he wanted all along. Interestingly enough, Mortimer sees that he was wrong in saying that he made the wheel of Fortune turn when Edward III condemns him as a traitor and has him killed (V.vi.58-65). So, he is a Machiavellian character and strives for more power through the queen, and in the end he is killed for