"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." This is a line from what play by William Shakespeare?

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." This is a line from William Shakespeare's play: The Tempest: Act 1, Scene 2. It is used when the spirit Ariel reports the success of the stormy shipwreck his master Prospero created.

When Prospero and Ariel talk about the ship, it is Ariel who describes the ship's destruction. It is in this context that Ariel tells Prospero that his enemies jumped from the burning vessel into the sea. He quotes Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples:

"All but mariners

Plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel,

Then all afire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand,

With hair up-staring,--then like reeds, not hair,--

Was the first man that leap'd; cried, 'Hell is empty

And all the devils are here."

What did Ferdinand mean by his exclamatory remark? His focus is on Alonso and the others who conspired against Prospero. They caused his exile. Now, it is the former duke's intent to make his treacherous enemies pay. We see that Ferdinand is not at all like his corrupt father. However, his observation that "hell is empty and all the devils are here" means that he recognizes the true evil nature of his father. He also sees the nature of the men traveling with him; he notes that these men have evil souls. The evil men die; the good men in the ship's crew are saved by Prospero.

To conclude, this play notes fruits of the spirit, verses acts of a sinful nature. A fruit of the spirit is love! An act of a sinful nature is discord!