A Study of Machiavellian Characters in the Select Plays of Elizabethan Age

Abstract The playwrights of the Elizabethan age are universally acclaimed for the portrayal of a diversified array of characters which is still exemplary and the modern playwrights still draw inspiration from them. This paper is a critical analysis of some of the finest characters from the plays of the selected playwrights who display the traits of the standard Machiavellian characters. This paper aims to disclose that how skillfully the Elizabethan playwrights rooted the basic traits of a Machiavellian character in their characters and turned their characters into a living character with flesh and bone. Such characters became immortal and often drive our attention towards their powerful existence in the English literature of the Elizabethan period. Keywords- Machiavellian Character, Play, Playwright, Elizabethan Age, English Literature