The Sun God: King Louis XIV

This aspect of military might became the key piece for centralizing power in France, controlling the army meant collecting taxes without the consent of the Estates General, therefore diminishing the power of Estates. This is the reason why the Military Revolution went hand-in-hand with the emergence of absolutism. Hatton describes “the term ‘absolutism’ denotes a form of power which is unrestrained; more specifically it implies that no external agency can suspend or delay the action of the sovereign power” (Hatton, 1976, p.18) Absolutism was also a product of power struggle between the King and the Estates, for example in France the Crown won, establishing monarchical

By divine right and being an offstage presence, King Louis XIV has the ability to control and assist everyone, whether it is warranted or not. Moliere was specific in mentioning King Louis’ power over the country to foreshadow his role in Tartuffe. Instead of appealing to the King to save the day in a believable fashion, Moliere creates a comical play to allow the audience to come to the realization themselves. People blindly follow the king, similarly to how Orgon and others blindly follow Tartuffe. King Louis XIV ruled the country for seventy-two years, during which time people grew to trust that he was doing what was best for the country, without ever knowing what he was doing.

This use of dramatic irony shows that though the crown should show authority, when Macbeth wears the crown it displays deception. Malcolm, however, is someone who will not hide behind the crown and who deserves to hear the call of his people saying “hail, King of Scotland” (5.9.27). By killing Macbeth, Macduff brings the crown back to the royal bloodline, and the crown again means authority and respect. Though the crown makes Macbeth appear to be the rightful king, the reality of his guilt hinders him from enjoying the power and leads to his

The whole dramatic situation motivated the general people to make their own national assembly. They gathered in an indoor tennis hall where they swore the famous "Tennis Court Oath". Here they agreed that they would not give up before a French constitution had been established. They managed to abolish most of Ancien Régime as well as rewrite the rights of the system so that they were distributed more equally between the general, the nobles and the priests - the revolution would make an incredibly bad job of sticking to these rights, but the same could argue for many other seemingly successful revolutions. Back in Versailles, the people were still starving and a rumor had spread that Queen Marie Antoinette, saved grain in his

Franch can be used as a prime example of an absolute monarch in Western Europe. France began building toward absolutism when Henry VI created the Edict of Nantes in efforts to reduce the violence in the country and gained many supporters. When Richelieu temporarily took the throne he centralized the government and established the supremacy of the king's law. When Louis XIV finally became king, Franch was already well on its way to an absolute monarchy. He went even further by diminishing the power of the nobility and gave them only ceremonial tasks until they we no longer relevant in the political

he only wanted help from the secretaries and ministers of state to assist him, when he asked for them. he did not want them to sign anything without command. Louis XIV swore to take complete control over the government. Louis began to call himself the “Sun King” as a symbol of his absolute power. After taking control of the government, he worked to centralize and tight control of France and its colonies.

Instead, there were people on the National Committee with him who helped contribute to the Reign of Terror (Linton). Robespierre discussed this in his speech by stating that the government was “despotic,” but it did not have a tyrant as a leader which would, in turn, protect the people (“Modern History Sourcebook”). He, however, executed his own people, contradicting his own statement. Robespierre also stated in the speech that terror was, in fact, a virtue and it was only appropriate to exemplify it. He, himself, acknowledges that he was truly an autocrat in France, which ultimately proves what Robespierre really was (“Modern History

It depicts a moral representing society under absolute monarchy. Namely, La Fontaine created the fable as a representation of the life of French people under the unlimited power possessed by the stomach, or Louis XIV. As is well known, The Sun King was very focused on his dancing and entertainments. This may have been part of the reason he was criticized by La Fontaine as a ruler who does not spend much time engaging in working for the general good of his society. For La Fontaine, royal power is what keeps the state together and his way of both mocking and flattering the court is visible in the fable.

One of the elements of the new French opera that shows the influence of King Louis XIV on Lully’s Armide was the overture at the beginning. As this overture was in welcome of the king, its sound was appropriately majestic in keeping with King Louis’s use of the arts as propaganda. Not only did the music praise the king, but also the text. Quinault used the opera as an opportunity to glorify France and admire its king. “His texts were overtly and covertly propagandistic” and they celebrated the king in literal terms or in allegory (Burkholder, et al.

They began the French Revolution, which wouldn’t have been possible if Louis’ actions hadn’t been as drastic as they were. To a greater extent, King Louis XVI can be held accountable for the main causes of the French Revolution due to the wars that he refused to drop because of his stubborn personality and the National