The Tempest Essay Research Paper The importance

Antonio?s slyness and sneakiness make it easy for him to take things in his own hands. He pretends to try and make peace with Gonzalo before telling him to go sleep so that he can discuss his evil intentions with Sebastian.

He tempts Sebastian with power and the throne of Naples.

"Th?occasion speaks thee, and my strong imagination sees a crown dropping upon thy head." He is prompting Sebastian to kill his own brother, Alonso, in order to seize the throne: "O! If you but knew how you the purpose cherish whiles thus you mock it; how in stripping it you more invest it. Ebbing men, indeed, most often do so near the bottom run by their own fear, or sloth."

He uses his certainty and Sebastian?s ambition to persuade him to proceed with this act. Now that Ferdinand is supposedly drowned, the next heir would be Claribel, she who is now Queen of Tunis and is too far away to notice what would be happening in Naples.

Sebastian asks Antonio if he has no guilt whatsoever for what he did to Prospero, Antonio replies that he has not a single trace of guilt or conscience to upset him. His reply is filled with metaphors, like much of Antonio?s language is. "Here lies your brother, no better than the earth he lies upon, if he were that which now he is like ? that is dead; whom I with this obedient steel, three inches of it, can lay to bed forever: whiles you doing thus, to the perpetual wink of an aye might put this ancient morsel, Sir Prudence, who should not upbraid our course."

Here, "lay to bed forever" means "to kill" and "a perpetual wink of an aye" stands for death itself.

Antonio proposes to kill Alonso himself and let Sebastian kill Gonzalo, in case he would disturb their plans. But as their plan is about to set place, Ariel wakes Gonzalo, who thusly wakes Alonso and Antonio quickly slips out of the situation with a good lie on his part, saying: "O, ?twas a din fright a monster?s ear, to make an earthquake. Sure it was the roar of a whole herd of lions."

Later in the play, Antonio?s confidence and determination convince Sebastian they should try once more, again leading to no prevail.

Antonio?s cynical attitude does not seize even towards the end; as Caliban faces Prospero, Antonio comments on his market value: "One of them is a plain fish and no doubt marketable."

In conclusion, Antonio is the real villain in the play. He never ceases to be cynical and mean and continues to plot evil schemes throughout, trying to convert others to villains. At no time is he nice to anyone or does he change his mind about what he has done. As Alonso repents in the end, Antonio does not budge or show indemnity or guilt about his actions, even though Prospero forgives him and spares his life. Antonio is the one that started the whole argument in the first place by banishing Prospero, Antonio is the one that should be punished, the one that should be repenting, but he does not show a single sign of remorse.