Prince was originally dedicated to Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici. The Medicis, however, did not accept Machiavelli into their favor until 1520. According to The Princes translator, Robert M. Adams, "he was an instinctive dramatist, and one of the dramatic effects he most enjoyed producing was shock and outrage." From The Prince to Mandragola Machiavelli wrote Mandragola after The Prince to rehash his political commentary for the upperclass. Theatre is a cautious means of exposing truths because the audience connects with the action, but is removed enough from the stage that there is no looming fear. Like in The Prince, Machiavelli argues that uniting opportunistic fortune and skillful strength allows for competence and accord. Machiavelli used those words, fortuna and virtù, literally and figuratively in both pieces to demonstrate that immorality is acceptable when the ends justify the means. In Mandragola, Machiavelli dramatically portrays these ideas by making the protagonist boast virtù and his leading lady encompass fortuna. The protagonist Callimaco is the virtuous prince that Machiavelli alludes to in The Prince; he has the fervent aspiration, but also the willingness to endanger his life that make him deserving of his love Lucrezia and worthy of authority. Opposedly, the antagonist Nicia who already holds power, like an inherited prince, owes himself to Fortuna and loses her because of his passiveness. By having the characters overstep each other to better themselves, Machiavelli uses commedia dell'arte (artful comedy) to portray recent Florentine political events. Therefore, each character is representative of a political figurehead, again reiterating ideas from The Prince with the help of masks and stock figures. In Mandragola there is the classic old husband, youthful wife, competent charlatan and foraging assistant. But Machiavelli also uses Commedia Erudita (learned comedy) to complicate his script by referencing ancient, virtuous, pedagogical texts. The characters are named from Greek etymologies and the storyline's action is resolved in a day's time without much change of scenery. The deception of infidelity in Mandragola paired with the play's vague conclusion allow for independent contemplation, which unifies the audience. The styling techniques and accumulated knowledge permit Machiavelli's characters to be multiple personalities throughout history, tying back directly to The Prince and relating to current day. Trickery The function of trickery appears as a central theme in Machiavelli's Commedia Erudita, Mandragola. The key role that fraud plays in the resolution of the comedy's complications is constantly reaffirmed through the characters’