Ariel tells Prospero what has happened to the ship and its passengers and crew. He tells how he appeared on the ship as a flame (he is after all a magic spirit), and frightened the passengers so much that they had jumped in to the sea. Only the crew remained on the ship.

Prospero wants to be sure that the crew and the passengers are safe. Ariel tells him how he saw to it that the passengers were washed up on the island in separate groups. He made sure the ship was safe, and that the crew were sleeping peacefully. He had sent the rest of the fleet back to Naples, with everyone believing that their king's ship had been sunk, and its passengers drowned.

Ariel now changes the subject, and says he's getting impatient. He reminds Prospero there is a time limit on how long he had to be Prospero's servant, after his release from Sycorax's spell. Ariel wants his freedom, and reminds Prospero that he's been a good servant.

Prospero, in reply, reminds Ariel of the horror he was released from. He tells him that he needs him to work for two more days and then he will be free. Prospero sends him off to keep watch over the washed-up passengers.

As Ariel leaves, Prospero wakes Miranda and tells her that they are going to see Caliban. This doesn't please Miranda, who refers to Caliban as a "villain" that she does not "love to look on". It is clear, too, from the names he calls him, that Prospero has not forgiven Caliban for an attack he once made on his daughter.