Antonio

The name Antonio refers to at least four different characters in the works of English author William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616).

The Merchant of Venice
Antonio is a Venetian merchant and the titular character in the play. He is noted as a generous man and extremely devoted to his good friend Bassanio.

When Bassanio is in need of money, Antonio offers to help him by borrowing from Shylock the local moneylender, promising Shylock full guarantee of return. Since Shylock hates Antonio - which is due to the fact that Antonio is distrustful of Jews in general and Shylock in particular, and once insulted him and spat on him - he makes Antonio sign a contract, ensuring that Shylock is entitled to take a pound of flesh from Antonio should he fail to pay his fee. Knowing that his latest ventures overseas had been successful and his ships are to arrive soon on Venice, Antonio agrees without worrying.

Tragically, however, a torment seemingly causes Antonio's vessels to sink and he loses all his chances to pay the debt on time. In order to save him from Shylock's murderous intents, Bassanio's wife Portia disguises herself as a male judge and sets up a trial in which she invalidates the contract via a loophole and forces Shylock to pay a large sum to Antonio (due to the fact that he basically tried to murder him) which essentially restores part of Antonio's wealth and ruins Shylock. The next good news come when Portia also informs Antonio that his ships had arrived on the port after all.

Throughout the play, Antonio comes across as a gentle and honest man, extremely loyal to his friends and even willing to die for them. However, he seems to be prone to occasional periods of melancholy which even he can't explain. He's also a good businessman. His main negative trait appears to be his antisemitism, although even that might be partially a reaction to Shylock's mean behavior and questionable business practices.

Much Ado About Nothing
Coming soon

Twelfth Night
This Antonio is a character that appears in Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night. He is a sea captain who rescued Viola's twin brother Sebastian after the twins shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria (in the Balkan Peninsula), and nurtured him back to health, helping him recover from the experience.

Antonio became extremely fond of the young man, who was nevertheless devastated by the belief that his sister had drowned. Unbeknownst to both of them, she had actually survived and believed in turn that Sebastian was the one who had died.

It is later revealed that Antonio was also a fugitive in Illyria, being hunted by Duke Orsino's guards who claim he is a thief and a pirate. Antonio doesn't consider himself a criminal, but admits to Sebastian that he's engaged in armed conflict with Illyrian vessels, though he also claims to have not killed anyone. As they need to proceed with caution to avoid Orsino's guards, the two eventually part ways, with Antonio trusting Sebastian with his money purse, should he need it.

Meanwhile, Viola had disguised herself as a man and became a personal servant of Orsino, due to her unrequited love for him, as she wished to stay close to him. Since the two siblings are so similar, the crossdressed Viola was essentially indistinguishable from Sebastian, whom she believed was dead. The Duke ordered Viola to send messages to his beloved, Lady Olivia. However, Olivia ended up falling in love with the disguised Viola, which put the young crossdressed maiden in great trouble as another suitor, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, challenged her to a sword fight to prove her value.

Terrified by the fact that she wasn't really a man and had never learned how to fight, Viola was fortunately saved by the timely arrival of Antonio, who mistook her for Sebastian and offered to fight in "his" place - which illustrates Antonio's undying devotion to his young friend. In the confusion that ensues, Antonio briefly duels with Sir Toby Belch, who is a friend of Sir Andrew.

When the guards arrive, Antonio is recognized as a fugitive and promptly arrested. He approaches Viola (still believing her to be Sebastian) as asks her for some of his money back. Viola, understandably confused, claims that she's thankful for his assistance but doesn't know who he is or what he's talking about. Even though she does offer the little amount of money that she carries, Antonio is furious at what he perceives as a betrayal, as he believes "Sebastian" lied about not knowing him to avoid being charged as an accomplice.

The whole matter is only resolved at the end, when the siblings finally reunite and Viola reveals her identity. Duke Orsino, having been impressed by her devotion to him, proposed to marry her, much to her own delight. Sebastian ends up marrying Olivia. Since Antonio had saved Viola's life and she expresses her gratitude, he presumably ends up pardoned by the Duke.

The Tempest
In The Tempest, Antonio is the brother of the wizard Prospero and is notable for having usurped his brother's position as Duke of Milan.

Originally, Antonio is a Milanese nobleman with Machiavellian ideals and lust for power. His brother Prospero, once the rightful the Duke of Milan, had great love and respect for him, so he made Antonio a Lord and trusted him to take care of Milan's political affairs while Prospero himself was occupied with his alchemical and magical studies.

Unfortunately, the treacherous Antonio enjoyed his position so much and became so convinced of being better suited to handle it than Prospero, that he secretly allied himself with the King of Naples, plotting to get rid of his brother and take the duchy for himself. In exchange, Antonio agreed to pay for Naples' help with tributes and favors, essentially subjugating Milan to the Neapolitan kingdom, much to the dismay of Prospero.

Since Prospero was such a beloved figure for the people of Milan, they decided not to execute him, but rather "exile" him by abandoning him on a damaged, unsailable boat at the sea, along with his three-year old daughter Miranda. Against all odds the two survived and ended up on the coast of a mystical uncharted island where Prospero, as a castaway, continued his magical studies and became an increasingly powerful wizard. Meanwhile Duke Antonio became a regular at the Neapolitan royal court and was among those invited to attend Princess Claribel's wedding in the distant kingdom of Tunis, in Africa.

When the royal fleet was returning to Naples after the wedding, they inadvertently passed close to Prospero's island. Sensing an opportunity for vengeance, the sorcerer ordered his faithful servant Ariel - a powerful air spirit - to create a tempest and engulf the king's ship in it, making it appear to the rest of the fleet that the ship had sunk. Meanwhile, Ariel hid the ship from sight and put the seamen to sleep with a spell.

Antonio was then brought to the island's shore along with the king Alonso, the king's brother Sebastian, the councilor Gonzalo and two other noblemen named Francisco and Adrian. Believing themselves to be the only survivors of the shipwreck, the group nevertheless sets foot in search of the king's son, Prince Ferdinand, as Francisco claims to have seen the prince swimming safely towards the shore (this was probably said only to raise the mournful king's spirit and give him some hope). In reality, Ariel had brought Ferdinand to a different part of the island where he eventually meets and falls in love with Prospero's daughter Miranda.

While the king's party travels through the island, the dry wit and sarcasm of Antonio and Sebastian becomes clear, as they mock the joyful optimist displayed by Adrian and Gonzalo. The ensuing bickering between them greatly annoys the king, who wants nothing but silence for the moment. At the same time, as Antonio truly believes Ferdinand to be dead, he starts planning another betrayal. Ariel, who had been hearing this conversation, puts everyone under a spell which causes them to fall asleep instantly, leaving only Antonio and Sebastian awakened. As soon as he sees this opportunity, Antonio convinces Sebastian that if he kills Alonso, the throne will be inherited by him and he will be king when they come back to civilization. Seeing that Antonio and Sebastian are indeed treacherous and about to commit regicide, Ariel wakes up Gonzalo, who immediately questions their intentions. The duo makes up an excuse that they had heard wild animals approaching and took swords to protect the king and the rest of the party, but it seems the king and Gonzalo become suspicious. Nevertheless, they proceed in their search for Ferdinand.

As they eventually exhaust themselves walking through the island, the group finds an unexpected banquet being served by beautiful nymphs and native spirits (who are servants of Ariel and Prospero). However, this is actually a ruse set up by Prospero, and as soon as they approach to eat, the food disappears and Ariel materializes, taking the form of a harpy to delivers a speech condemning Antonio, Sebastian and Alonso for what they did to Prospero and Miranda. The spectacle leaves the men insane, fencing their swords at the air in vain attempts to hit the immaterial spirits that torment them. At first, Prospero is pleased by this vengeance, but seeing the sadness and compassion in Gonzalo (who had greatly assisted him during the exile by secretly providing him with food and water) and even Ariel (who claims that he would feel pity for them if he was human) makes Prospero realize that his vengeance had come too far, and that it's nobler to forgive than to destroy. He thus breaks the spelling and returns the three men's sanity, and presents Alonso with the best of gifts: his son. He does also quietly warn Antonio and Sebastian that he's aware of their previous attempt to murder the king, but will keep it silent as long as they repent. As Alonso is convinced that Prospero had been wronged, he returns Prospero to his position as Duke of Milan and all return to the continent to attend the marriage of Miranda and Ferdinand.