Hal is a cold and calculating Machiavellian ruler. According to Machiavelli's famous theory, being a successful leader has nothing to do with being a good person or doing the right thing. Instead, it's about being inventive, manipulative, cunning and stubborn. Hal is an intelligent character who put all of these attributes to good use when he articulated a grand plan to deceive everyone around him in order to gain power. One critic argues that traditionally there are two common ways of interpreting Prince Hal's development. The first is to see it as a celebration of a great king in the making growing into his responsibilities and developing into a mature political leader. The second vision sees Prince Hal as a cold Machiavelli who uses his friends as means to a political end, without much regard for their feelings. (Johnston 1).Hal understands that those of noble birth have a greater responsibility to be honorable. The jealousy that comes from persistently protecting one's honor is a trait seen in nearly every noble figure, but Hal's attitude toward honor is different from that of those around him, especially Hotspur. Unlike Hotspur, who respects the code of honor, Hal intends to abuse it by postponing the acquisition of honor so that when he eventually obtains it his reputation will seem greater than it originally would have been. For Hal, reputation is nothing more than a simple disguise that can be improved. Hal will simply use Hotspur to redeem his reputation. His plan to use dishonor to his advantage is proof of how much he can manipulate to get what he wants. Rather than seeing honor as a precious ideal to which life itself must be sacrificed, Hal sees an honorable reputation as a useful political commodity, and intends to exploit the classes... to use these newly acquired talents in politics and the field of battle. Like his father, he bends the rules to his will and masters the ability to perform when the situation changes. His first soliloquy reveals that he wants to make his mark on the political scene. Hal knows that his famous return to royalty will seem extraordinary because he has socialized in the wastelands. Hal's soliloquy also tells us that he knows that the vital quality of the powerful leader is theatrical: the ability to put on a dazzling and surprising public spectacle. He is devoted to acquiring supreme power, unable to share it with anyone else. He gains his power and success only through manipulation. He uses everyone in his life as a means to an end. His astute and creative way of thinking about society brought him success. He is a cold and calculating Machiavellian ruler.