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THE COUNTERPLOT

Tell the story of Act II, showing how its main event is the conspiracy of Antonio and Sebastian against Alonzo and Gonzalo. Is the issue left undecided long, so that it threatens the result? How and why does Ariel prevent the success of it? Might it not have been to Prospero's advantage to have the King killed, since Ferdinand would then succeed to the throne of Naples? Did Ariel's intervention kill the plot? What light is thrown on the characters by scene i. of this act? Do you think it is intended to be shown that Gonzalo is prosy and tiresome, although good, or only that the lower and more frivolous characters find him so? Which is the likelier, that Shakespeare intended the dialogue about Gonzalo's ideal commonwealth to be a satire upon it, or favorable to Utopian schemes? Which comes out the better at last in the wit-combat,--the quick Antonio and Sebastian, or the thoughtful Gonzalo? Is Sebastian's solicitude about Claribel a sign of a kindlier nature than Antonio's? Are there any indications that Antonio's mind is more alert than Sebastian's? What purposes of the action or plot are served by the introduction of Claribel? Is the King's grief as great for the daughter as for the son? How does his paternal affection compare with Prospero's? Compare Antonio's speech, suggesting the murder to Sebastian, with similar speeches in Shakespeare (Macbeth's, King John's, Oliver's in 'As You Like It,' Claudius' in 'Hamlet'). In the second scene of this act, how far is a second counter-plot foreshadowed?

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