Give an account of the conspiracy in Act II, stating how it was orchestrated. Who was the first to broach the plot and by what argument did he win over the other?

Antonio is the arch-conspirator in the play. First, he conspired against his brother, Prospero and expelled him from his dukedom. The idea of the plot against Alonso first occurred to him at the lonely island. The circumstances are certainly favourable to his design. The King is grief-stricken and his courtiers are hardly recovered from their late astounding experiences. Taking in the situation, his brain must have been busy all the time.

The opportunity soon presented itself. Alonso and all the rest of the royal team except Sebastian and Antonio fell asleep. Seeing Sebastian as an eligible person, he felt the way. He cautiously spoke in dark hints to know the feelings of Sebastian on the matter.

By subtle persuasion and sophistical reasoning, he convinces Sebastian that he is most worthy to be the King of Naples. He told him that there can be no better opportunity to get rid of Alonso since the King’s son is dead and the King’s daughter has been married off to a far-away place. Sebastian fell in plot with Antonio. Both of them drew their swords. Sebastian was to kill Alonso and Antonio was to kill Gonzalo.

Suddenly, there was music in air. The music was invisibly played by Ariel. Hearing it, Gonzalo and Alonso too woke up. So, the conspiracy was frustrated by the intervention of Ariel.