Antonio: The Usurper Who Never Admits He Was Wrong

Antonio took the dukedom from Prospero twelve years before the play begins, and is given no moment of genuine regret in it. Prospero forgives him in Act 5; Antonio says nothing. He is the only character in the final scene who does not speak or reconcile. His silence is as telling as anyone else's speech.

On the island he immediately starts working on Sebastian the same way someone once worked on him. In Act 2, Scene 1, while everyone else sleeps, he talks Sebastian into trying to kill Alonso. The logic is identical to what once persuaded him to betray Prospero: the power is right there, the current holder is asleep, no one is watching. He has learned nothing from the last twelve years and shows no sign of wanting to.

He is unrepentant in a play about forgiveness, which gives the ending its unresolved edge. Prospero forgives him for reasons the play makes Prospero explain but does not make entirely convincing. Antonio offers nothing in return.