Flattery, also called adulation or blandishment, is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate romantic courtship. 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, Niccolò Machiavelli flattered Lorenzo II de' Medici in The Prince, and Jean de La Fontaine flattered Louis XIV of France in his Fables.