Flattery
Encyclopedia
Flattery is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject.
Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king
or queen
. In the Renaissance
, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser
flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene
, William Shakespeare
flattered King James I
in Macbeth
and Niccolò Machiavelli
flattered Lorenzo II di Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence
and Duke of Urbino
, in The Prince
.
Flattery is also used in pick-up line
s used to attempt to initiate romantic courtship.
Most associations with flattery, however, are negative. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as The Bible. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their words were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell.
An insincere flatterer is a stock character
in many literary works. Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
, Goneril
and Regan
from King Lear
, and Iago
from Othello
.
"To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer appear more attractive, as in:
Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
or queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
. In the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
flattered King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
flattered Lorenzo II di Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Duke of Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
, in The Prince
The Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
.
Flattery is also used in pick-up line
Pick-up line
A pick-up line is a conversation opener with the intent of engaging an unfamiliar person for romance, or dating. Overt and sometimes humorous displays of romantic interest, pick-up lines advertise the wit of their speakers to their target listeners....
s used to attempt to initiate romantic courtship.
Most associations with flattery, however, are negative. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as The Bible. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their words were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell.
An insincere flatterer is a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
in many literary works. Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, Goneril
Goneril
Goneril, or Gonerill, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. She is the eldest of King Lear's daughters. Along with her sister Regan, Goneril is considered a wicked character. She is obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly father as ruler of the kingdom...
and Regan
Regan
Regan is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin derived from the Irish personal name Riagáin, which meant "little king".-People:*Bill Regan , a MLB player*Brian Regan, a comedian...
from King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, and Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
from Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
.
"To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer appear more attractive, as in:
- The King was pleased with the portrait, as it was very flattering of his girth.
- I think I'll wear the green dress because it flatters my legs.
See also
- Appeal to flatteryAppeal to flatteryAppeal to flattery is a fallacy in which a person uses flattery, excessive compliments, in an attempt to win support for their side....
- IngratiationIngratiationIngratiation, a term coined by social psychologist Edward E. Jones, is a social psychological technique in which an individual attempts to become more attractive or likeable to their target. This outcome can be achieved by using several methods such as other-enhancement, opinion conformity, and...
- Love bombingLove bombingLove bombing is the deliberate show of affection or friendship by an individual or a group of people toward another individual. Critics have asserted that this action may be motivated in part by the desire to recruit, convert or otherwise influence....
- Superficial charmSuperficial charmSuperficial charm is "the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile."The phrase often appears in lists of attributes of psychopathic personalities, such as in Hervey Cleckley's The Mask of Sanity and Robert Hare's Hare Psychopathy Checklist.Associated expressions are...
- Sycophancy