Explain how far you think Shakespeare presents the Prince as an effective ruler.

I think Shakespeare presents the Prince as quite a conflicting ruler, through foreshadowing and using
him as a plot device. He is presented as both a great power full of authority, presence and influence,
yet also a slave to society. He is conveyed as an unbiased and fair ruler, but panders to the rich to
avoid conflict. This juxtaposition paints him as a hypocritic, and ineffective leader, with a
contradictory strong image.

Shakespeare uses foreshadowing to present the influence and power Prince Escalus has over the
events that take place throughout the play. In the extract, he says “your lives shall pay the forfeit of
the peace”. This could be interpretated to mean that the lives that they own will be forfeited, their
children, Romeo and Juliet; as happens at the end of the play. Later on in the play, when Romeo is
banished as a result of the murder of Tybalt, the prince says “when he’s found, that hour is his last”.
This could be a foreshadow of how, the moment Romeo is found in Verona, he kills himself within
the hour, so as well as a threat, it’s a prediction of the future. These instances could be reflective of
the impact and domination he has over the storyline, and the ‘fate’ of Romeo and Juliet. It could
potentially even be a parallel, of how Shakespeare manipulates the plot, and the Prince is an allegory
for that.

The prince is put across as very unbiased and fair. The meaning of his name ‘Escalus’ roughly
translates to ‘Measure for Measure’, showing that Shakespeare wanted Escalus to reflect justice in
everything, including his own name. It could also be a reference to another play Shakespeare had
written entitled ‘Measure for Measure’, which contains a plot of an unfairly targeted man, by a
hypocritic person in a position of power, but ultimately ends in justice for all. This could be a direct
contradiction of how unfairly targets the Montagues and Capulets throughout the play, and doesn’t
divert enough attention on the goings on of others, ultimately leading to Romeo and Juliet’s death;
or to further emphasise the sense of impartiality of Escalus. Similarly, the prince, often only speaks in
prepared monologues from a position of authority over his subjects, that presents a character who
declines to involve himself in the trivial matters and arguments his subjects engage in, and simply
punishes them when they do wrong. This could be a sign of impartiality and objectiveness; however
it could also be showing the flaws in his leadership, that he doesn’t try to understand what is causing
these conflicts to cut them off at the root, and merely scolds them, without listening to what they
have to say – a sign of weakness in leadership. Yet, later on the play, he says “you shall all repent this
loss of mine” in response to when his son, Mercutio, has been murdered. He doesn’t let this affect
how he treats everyone, and instead remains impartial, perhaps to some, even giving too light of a
sentence to Romeo. Even at the close of the play, following the death of Paris, he offers a balanced
approach. He recognises that they have all been punished by these events and again behaves as he
should in his position, despite having another family member murdered.

On the other hand, Shakespeare also conveys the Prince to be somewhat of a sexist character. At the
end of his speech, he states “all men, depart”, completely ignoring the presence of the women right
in front of him. He never regards the women involved in the feud, possibly as he considers them to
be “weaker vessels” and shouldn’t be allowed to partake as it’s a typically ‘masculine’ activity. He
could also be pandering to the powerful men that are Lords Capulet and Montague as he assumes it
could make him look feeble and challenge his masculinity. This is ironic as he promotes a fair and
just society, yet is still a slave to the patriarchy, highlighting he is just another follower of society,
fate, and Shakespeare himself. It could also be a reflection of Shakespeare’s values, if the character
could be perceived of a reflection of him.
He is also described as quite powerless resorting to threats and imagery to attempt to discipline his
subjects. He compare the Montagues and Capulets to “beasts”, showing the lack of control he has
over their animalistic instincts. Yet the juxtaposition between “you men” and “you beasts”, suggests
even now he still respects them more than he should, and has no clear boundaries set out, as they’re
rich and think the rules don’t apply to them. Later on in the play, after Romeo’s banishment, he says
“mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill”. This is an unexpected statement, as it means that
being towards murderers, leads to more deaths, so its peculiar as to why he only banished Romeo as
opposed to killing him. It could be to remain impartial, as killing Romeo, is likely to make the
situation worse significantly worse, but its also an indication of how powerless he is, as he thinks
Romeo should die yet he can’t, without sacrificing the lives of others, showing how little control he
has over the whole situation, perhaps reinforcing the idea of destiny and fate being the deciding
factor throughout the play.