itself from wolves.' <5>. Although the book from which this extract
was taken, 'The Prince', had yet to be published in English, the
ideas it contained (or at least a caricature of them) had been in
circulation for many years following its initial publication in Italy
in 1531. These were often treated with profound suspicion by the
English who saw the advocacy of the use of manipulation and deception
in order to maintain power as being the idea of a disreputable
foreign country. Indeed, Machiavelli was seen as a satanic figure who
was known as 'Old Nick', a still-used reference to the devil, and the
machiavel became a stock figure on the early modern stage, a
tradition which the portrayal of the King is drawing on.

The other interesting opposition within the play is between the two
claimants to the title of Queen, the current incumbent and Onaelia.
There is little doubt that it is Onaelia who is the representative of
virtue, her behaviour often rising above that of the 'noble'
Balthazar. In Act 1 Scene 2 she makes a fearless statement in
defacing the King's portrait, this being an act of treason <6>.
Despite her strong feelings however, she does not rise to Balthazar's
bait when he introduces the possibility of assassinating the King;
the remnants of her love for him and her concern for the stability of
the realm rule this possibility out. She is not however prepared to
accept her treatment without protest and, in Act 3 Scene 2, engages a
poet to propagandise on her behalf. His refusal, on the grounds of
self-preservation is denounced in striking terms when she accuses
poets generally of being 'apt to lash / Almost to death poor wretches
not worth striking / but fawn with slavish flattery on damned vices /
so great men act them'. The effective conclusion of her involvement
as early as the end of 3.2 impoverishes the rest of the play. The
Queen's less admirable character is highlighted by the way she is