Flattery

Flattery, also called adulation or blandishment, 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.

Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello.

In his In Praise of Folly, Erasmus commended flattery because it "raises downcast spirits, comforts the sad, rouses the apathetic, stirs up the stolid, cheers the sick, restrains the headstrong, brings lovers together and keeps them united.

"[1] "To flatter" is also used to refer to artwork or clothing that makes the subject or wearer appear more attractive, as in:

Yes, It Is My Deceased Wife!...Only You Have Flattered Her Too Much! , lithograph by Honoré Daumier , Brooklyn Museum