The setting for the second act is another part of the island, where Alonso (the King of Naples) and others from the shipwreck have landed. With Alonso are Sebastian (the King’s brother) and Antonio (the current Duke of Milan). And with these three high- ranking nobles are Adrian and Francisco (two minor lords) and Gonzalo (the honest counsellor from Naples).
Gonzalo attempts to comfort King Alonso, who is grief-stricken over the loss of his son. Gonzalo asserts that shipwrecks are a common occurrence among sailors, but survival of such an event is rare. So, even though they have suffered misfortune, they should appreciate the “miracle” that has spared their lives: “weigh our sorrow with our comfort” (8-9). Gonzalo is trying to be optimistic about the situation, but his words bring no comfort to the king.
As Gonzalo continues to try to bring consolation to King Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio make callous and sarcastic remarks about Gonzalo and also about Adrian. Although the two aristocrats are correct that Gonzalo’s words are not helping the king, Sebastian and Antonio are behaving vilely. Despite being of the nobility, they are hardly acting in a noble manner. And their mean-spirited words do nothing to help Alonso or the desperate situation in which they currently find themselves. Their denigration of Gonzalo is another indication of social criticism. High-ranking nobles often felt they were superior in every way to those in a lower social class (represented by Gonzalo in this scene). Shakespeare
– as well as most of the people in his audience – finds nothing likeable in the characters of Sebastian and Antonio; and their unpleasant words in the early part of the scene coincide with their unpleasant schemes in the latter part of the scene. They are not just arrogant snobs: they are also villains.
Shakespeare lightens the atmosphere of the scene, though, by including much word play and humor. His villains become comic villains.
Gonzalo speaks the following in his further attempt to console the king:
When every grief is entertained that’s offered, Comes to the entertainer – (16-17)
Before Gonzalo can finish his sentence, Sebastian interrupts with a witty remark. Gonzalo is saying that when a person persists in thinking about every grief that comes his way, he will be filled or choked with sorrow. The counsellor uses the word entertained to mean to dwell on or to think deeply about; and the word entertainer thus refers to the person who is obsessed with his grief. Sebastian, however, jokes by playing on the more common meaning of the word entertainer as an actor or performer, who would receive some money (a dollar) for his performance. Gonzalo responds with a bit of witticism of his own, saying that the griever receives dolor (which means sorrow). Neither the words of Gonzalo nor the words of Sebastian, though, bring any cheer to the king.
Sebastian and Antonio then make a bet between themselves as to who (Gonzalo or Adrian) will continue to speak pointlessly. Apparently, Adrian also has a reputation for talking too much. Antonio bets on Adrian and wins the bet.
Adrian, like Gonzalo, also sees the blessings or comfort in their situation; and he also attempts to cheer King Alonso by looking at the positive aspects of the island. Adrian thus says of the island …
It must needs be of a subtle, tender, and delicate temperance. (42-43)
Adrian is saying that the island has a fine, gentle, and mild climate. But Antonio sarcastically chimes in with a double entendre (a pun involving a risqué meaning): “Temperance was a delicate wench” (44). The word temperance could mean self-restraint and could imply a person (a woman) who refrains from having sex. The word delicate could mean (in Renaissance slang) being pleased by tactile or physical pleasures and implies a person who enjoys having sexual activity. The word wench meant a girl or young woman but could also mean a prostitute. Thus, in his pun, Antonio is using Temperance as the name of a girl who enjoys having sex. The combination is comical because the words delicate (sexual) and temperance (non-sexual) are opposites (given the meaning in which Antonio uses them).
As the conversation continues, Gonzalo remarks that their garments appear to be relatively fresh and clean even though they had just come out of the ocean (lines 62-64). Antonio responds sarcastically, indicating that Gonzalo is lying about their clothes. The dialogue does not clearly indicate whether Gonzalo is right or whether Antonio is. However, the island and its inhabitants are under the magical spell of Prospero; and very likely Gonzalo and Antonio are seeing objects differently. The magic of the island is bringing out or revealing the worse qualities of Antonio and Sebastian.
Both Antonio and Sebastian are being contentious and mean-spirited. When Gonzalo makes a reference to the wedding of King Alonso’s daughter to the African King of Tunis, Sebastian responds sarcastically: “’Twas a sweet marriage, and we prosper well in our return” (71-72). Sebastian clearly means that the marriage was a sour one – one that was a mistake for the people of Naples. And, quite obviously, King Alonso and his party – being shipwrecked and stranded on an island – clearly did not prosper on their return voyage.
The quibbling and fussing continue. Gonzalo remarks that Tunis never had such a splendid wedding since the time of the “Widow Dido.” Dido was a queen of ancient Carthage (who reigned approximately 1200 BC – thus thousands of years before the events of the present tale). The tale of Dido appears in Virgil’s epic, The Aeneid. Gonzalo simply means to state that Tunis never before had such a lovely royal bride in a very long time. Antonio, however, ridicules Gonzalo for using the word widow (lines 76-77). Antonio is thinking solely of Dido’s relationship with Aeneas, whom she never married. Dido committed suicide when Aeneas abandoned her. Antonio thus assumes that Dido was not a widow. However, in the poem, Virgil notes that Dido had previously been married to Sychaeus, who had passed away before Aeneas’ arrival. So, Dido was actually, in fact, a widow. The point, though, of these lines is to reveal that Antonio is finding the smallest of excuses to carp and to criticize Gonzalo.
Even Sebastian, who is acting every bit as rude and sarcastically as Antonio, finds Antonio’s remark to be too finicky: “Good Lord, how you take it!” (78-79). He means that Antonio is taking the remark or considering it too closely. He is saying that Antonio is being too picky or fussy.
However, both Sebastian and Antonio become too fussy when Gonzalo claims that the modern city of Tunis is the same as the ancient city of Carthage. Although Tunis was built very near the site where the ancient city of Carthage was located, it was not the exact location (and, so, Gonzalo slightly errs in this regard). However, the point is that both Sebastian and Antonio are acting ignobly. They are both being fussy and nit-picky. There is nothing honorable in their behavior.