Another part of the island — Antonio tempts Sebastian

A different part of the island. Alonso, the King of Naples, is in heavy mourning — Ferdinand is gone, drowned for all he knows. Gonzalo, the honest old counselor, tries to lift the company's spirits, pointing out that their clothes are miraculously dry and the air is wholesome. He builds out a long playful sketch of the commonwealth he would establish on this island if he were its king — no commerce, no magistrate, no riches, no poverty, all things in common, the soil bringing forth on its own. The speech is one of Shakespeare's most-quoted utopian visions and is taken almost verbatim from Montaigne's essay "Of the Cannibals." Antonio and Sebastian, the two cynics of the party, mock him through it.

Ariel enters invisibly and plays solemn music. Alonso, Gonzalo, and most of the lords fall asleep where they sit. Only Antonio and Sebastian remain awake. Antonio looks at the sleeping king and at his sleeping brother Gonzalo and at the unguarded throne of Naples that lies behind both, and begins, with careful, smiling pressure, to propose the next crime. If Sebastian were to kill the king now, he would be king. The plot is exactly the one Antonio carried out against Prospero — the same logic, the same opportunity, the same persuasive voice. Sebastian, after a moment of feigned scruple, agrees. They draw their swords.

Ariel returns invisibly and sings into Gonzalo's ear: "while you here do snoring lie, open-eyed conspiracy his time doth take." Gonzalo wakes and shouts; Alonso wakes; the swords are caught suspended above sleeping bodies. Antonio improvises smoothly — he says they thought they heard a herd of wild beasts roaring nearby and drew their weapons in defense. Alonso, distracted by grief, accepts the explanation. The party gathers itself and presses on, looking for Ferdinand. The play has just shown the audience exactly what Antonio is and what Sebastian is willing to be — a fact Prospero will hold over both of them, silently, for the rest of the play.