Despite the negative comments made by Sebastian and Antonio, Gonzalo appreciates the striking qualities of the island and he imagines what he would do if he were king of the island:
I’th’ commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things. (147-48)
Gonzalo uses the word commonwealth to suggest an ideal government that has the common good or common welfare of all of the inhabitants as its sole purpose. The counselor uses the word contraries to indicate that he would do the exact opposite of what is commonly being done in all of the cities and governments of Europe.
Gonzalo then explains that in his kingdom there would be no commerce or business of any kind, no riches or poverty (and, hence, no class system), no legal contracts or inheritance of property, no farming, no manufacturing of weapons or other implements, and no work. Gonzalo is thus asserting that people should and would live simply off the land (what “nature should bring forth”) without worries or strife of any kind. He also adds that without wealth and social position, there would be no treason and no crimes. All people would thus be innocent and good.
Gonzalo also adds some unintentional humor into his speech. When he comments that men would not have to work, he uses the word idle to indicate a society without work. And then the counselor adds that women would be idle as well: they too would not have to work. But as soon as he says this, he realizes that he has set himself up once again for the ridicule of Antonio and Sebastian. The expression “an idle woman” during the time of the Renaissance could also imply a woman who was morally loose and sexually active – in other words, a prostitute. Gonzalo then quickly modifies his statement by declaring that the women in his ideal kingdom would be “innocent and pure,” not sexually overactive. Gonzalo’s addition, however, does not stop Sebastian and Antonio from being sarcastic about his ideas.
Gonzalo’s speech comes from an essay by the French writer Montaigne. John Florio translated the essay into English in the late 16th century. According to some records, Florio was possibly a friend of Shakespeare as well as an influence upon him.
The speech conveys the idea of paradise or the Garden of Eden. It also suggests the idea of the Golden Age, a concept from the ancient and Classical times of Greece to suggest that early man lived in an ideal state of peace and harmony.
Gonzalo’s speech is also a statement of social criticism. The problems and ills of society come with progress and the advancement of civilization. Prospero was content to live on his island without civilization and all of its attendant ills, but he also realizes that his daughter needs society. The Golden Age is a myth that man, with all of his desires and schemes, can never achieve. Desire precludes the possibility of perfection.