Facsimile of the first page of All's Well that Ends Well from the First Folio, published in 1623.

All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare, originally classified as a comedy, though now often counted as one of his problem plays, so-called because they cannot be easily classified as tragedy or comedy. It was probably written in later middle part of Shakespeare's career, between 1601 and 1608, and was first published in the First Folio in 1623. The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout The First Folio is the name given by modern scholars to the first published collection of William Shakespeares plays; its actual title is Mr. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... In Shakespeare studies, the term problem plays normally refers to three comedies that William Shakespeare wrote between the late 1590s and the first years of the seventeenth century: Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice, although some critics would extend the term to... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout The First Folio is the name given by modern scholars to the first published collection of William Shakespeares plays; its actual title is Mr. ...

Sources

The play is based on a tale (3.9) of Boccacio's Decameron. Shakespeare may have read an English translation of the tale in William Painter's Palace of Pleasure. ^[1] Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (June 16, 1313 – December 21, 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poetry in the vernacular. ... The Decameron is a collection of novellas that was finished by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1353. ...

Characters

KING OF FRANCE

DUKE OF FLORENCE

BERTRAM, Count of Rousillon

COUNTESS OF ROUSILLON, Mother to Bertram

LAVACHE, a Clown in her household

HELENA, a Gentlewoman protected by the Countess

LAFEU, an old Lord

PAROLLES, a follower of Bertram

An Old Widow of Florence DIANA, Daughter to the Widow

Steward to the Countess of Rousillon

VIOLENTA, MARIANA, Neighbours and Friends to the Widow

A Page

Soldiers, Servants, Gentlemen & Courtiers

Synopsis

Helena, a lowborn beauty, serves as a gentlewoman in the household of the Countess of Rossilion. Bertram, the Countess' son, is making preparations to leave for Paris to become a ward of the King of France. Helena has long nursed a secret love for Bertram, despite their class differences. It is revealed that the King is terminally ill of a fistula (to Shakespeare it was a long pipelike ulcer). Helena, whose father was a well-renowned physician, offers to cure him if he will allow her to marry the Lord of her choice - he agrees. Her medicinal knowledge proves fruitful, and she saves the King's life. The King is overjoyed and accedes to her condition, upon curing him, of being granted the husband of her choice. Of course, she chooses the reluctant and unwilling Bertram. She offers him freedom to deny her, but the King is insistent on the marriage as a reward to Helena and Bertram is forced to consent. After their (enforced) wedding, Bertram decides he would rather face death in battle than remain married to Helena. So he steals off to fight in the Italian war developing between the Florentines (Florence) and the Senoys (Siena). While at war, he writes dismissively home to Helena:

"When thou canst get the ring upon my finger, which never shall come off, and show me a child begotten of thy body that I am father to, then call me husband." (III.ii.55-58)

Bertram thinks these things an impossible task, nevertheless, Helena sets out with a plan to recover her husband.

Back at the warfront, the young lords strive to convince Bertram that his ne'er-do-well friend Parolles is a coward. They set up an elaborate ruse to convince Parolles to recover a company drum stolen by the enemy and trick him into believing he has been captured. Parolles, thinking himself begging for his life, readily spills all his army's secrets to his "captors", betraying Bertram ("a foolish idle boy and for all that very ruttish...") in the process. Dishonored and stripped of his title, Parolles returns to France as a beggar. Helena, meanwhile, enlists the aid of Diana, a maiden who has taken Bertram's fancy. Together they execute the bait-and-switch "bed trick" during which Helena successfully gets the Rossillion family ring and sleeps with Bertram as per the conditions in his letter. In the final act, Helena's cunning plot is revealed, and Bertram promises to be a faithful husband to her and "love her dearly, ever, ever dearly." (V.iii.354)

Performance history

There are no recorded performances before the Restoration; the earliest occurred in 1741 at Goodman's Fields, with another the following year at Drury Lane where it acquired its reputation of being an unlucky play. The actress playing Helena fainted and had to be replaced. The actor playing the king fainted and subsequently died. Sporadic performances followed in the ensuing decades, with an operatic version at Covent Garden in 1832. For other uses, see Restoration. ... Currently home to Lord Of The Rings, the musical. ... The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ...

Critical comment

There is no evidence that All's Well was popular in Shakespeare's own lifetime, and it has remained one of his lesser-known plays ever since, in part due to its odd mixture of fairy tale logic and cynical realism. The final scene in which Bertram suddenly switches from hatred to love in just one line is considered a particular problem for actors trained to admire psychological realism. A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ...

One character that has been admired is that of the old Countess, which is one of the few good roles for an older actress in the Shakespeare canon. Modern productions are often promoted as vehicles for great mature actresses; recent examples have starred Judi Dench and Peggy Ashcroft. Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA, (born 9 December 1934), usually known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony, three-time BAFTA, and six-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning English actress. ... Dame Peggy Ashcroft DBE (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an acclaimed Academy Award-winning English actress. ...

References

1. ^ F. E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964, Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. 29.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

All's Well That Ends Well

• Read the complete text on Wikisource
• MaximumEdge.com Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well - searchable scene-indexed version of the play.

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