[6] Modern productions are often promoted as vehicles for great mature actresses; examples in recent decades have starred Judi Dench and Peggy Ashcroft, who delivered a performance of "entranc[ing]...worldly wisdom and compassion" in Trevor Nunn's sympathetic, "Chekhovian" staging at Stratford in 1982. A positive ending can overshadow any problems that may have preceded it. All's well that ends well. However, some alternative readings emphasise the "if" in his equivocal promise: "If she, my liege, can make me know this clearly, I'll love her dearly, ever, ever dearly." Thus all ends well. I'm glad you finally got here, even though your car had a flat tire on the way. Given that Shakespeare wrote 'All's Well That Ends Well' over 400 years ago it might be assumed that he coined the expression. he managed to make Bertram sympathetic, even charming. [15] Rehearsals at Drury Lane started in October 1741 but William Milward (1702–1742), playing the king, was taken ill, and the opening was delayed until the following 22 January. Peg Woffington, playing Helena, fainted on the first night and her part was read. [9] Some consider that Bertram is not meant to be contemptible, merely a callow youth learning valuable lessons about values. Gentleman Marry, as I take it, to Rousillon; Whither I am going. Despite her beauty and worth, Helena has no hope of attracting Bertram, since she is of low birth and he is a nobleman. young earl." Ellen Terry (1932) Four Essays on Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well (disambiguation), "Theatre review: All's Well That Ends Well / Olivier, London", "All's Well That Ends Well, review: Eye-opening and vividly alive", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=All%27s_Well_That_Ends_Well&oldid=1011428471, Adaptations of works by Giovanni Boccaccio, Articles to be expanded from February 2021, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Countess of Roussillon, Mother of Bertram, An Old Widow of Florence, surnamed Capilet, Soldiers, Servants, Gentlemen, and Courtiers. Helena's love for the seemingly unlovable Bertram is difficult to explain on the page, but in performance, it can be made acceptable by casting an extremely attractive actor and emphasising the obvious homosexual relationship between Bertram and the "clothes horse" fop, Parolles: "A filthy officer he is in those suggestions for the Many directors have taken the view that when Shakespeare wrote a comedy, he did intend there to be a happy ending, and accordingly that is the way the concluding scene should be staged. (Act III Sc5.) The play is based on a tale (tale nine of day three) of Boccaccio's The Decameron. All’s Well That Ends Well is part of the problem play trilogy that followed soon after the Danish Prince’s demise and Malvolio’s humiliation, and it appears on the surface to be less twisted than both Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure. Bertram is uninterested in Helena, however, preferring to sow his wild oats along distant battlefields with women he doesn't have to waste time with in the morning. The groom was late for the wedding, but everything worked out all right. "[21], In 1896 Frederick S. Boas coined the term "problem play" to include the unpopular work, grouping it with Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure. [4], There is no evidence that All's Well That Ends 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 unorthodox mixture of fairy tale logic, gender role reversals and cynical realism. And Helena is of course one of Shakespeare's great heroines, even if … He goes to Italy. SCENE 5. And Parolles, Bertram's friend, is one of Shakespeare's great rats. For other uses, see. BACK; NEXT ; Click on any scene below for a side-by-side translation from the original Shakespeare into modern English. They perform the bed trick. Here, there has been no change of heart at all. The King is cured and Helena chooses Bertram, who rejects her, owing to her poverty and low status. With evolving conventions of gender roles, Victorian objections centred on the character of Helena, who was variously deemed predatory, immodest and both "really despicable" and a "doormat" by Ellen Terry, who also—and rather contradictorily—accused her of "hunt[ing] men down in the most undignified way". All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. She follows him to Italy, … Unwilling to marry beneath his station, Bertram runs away to war and leaves Helena to contrive her way into his heart. All’s Well That Ends Well Performances begin March 04, 2021; Guest companies and special events. [10] Contemporary audiences would readily have recognised Bertram's enforced marriage as a metaphor for the new requirement (1606), directed at followers of the Catholic religion, to swear an Oath of Allegiance to Protestant King James, suggests academic Andrew Hadfield of the University of Sussex.[11]. all's well that ends well Everything has turned out satisfactorily, even though the outcome has been uncertain. Directed by Paris Barclay. This proverb, dating from about 1250, gained even more currency as the title of a Shakespeare comedy. No records of the early performances of All's Well That Ends Well have been found. Oh, well. There is a debate regarding the dating of the composition of the play, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608.[1][2]. All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. But don’t be fooled. The play ends, however, in such an abrupt manner that Shakespeare leaves us wondering just how "well" all has "ended" for Bertram and his "rightful" bride. (2016). [Exeunt.] The King forces him to marry her, but after the ceremony Bertram immediately goes to war in Italy without so much as a goodbye kiss. It's one of Shakespeare's lesser-loved plays, so why did I have so much fun reading "All's Well That Ends Well"? [20] Terry's friend George Bernard Shaw greatly admired Helena's character, comparing her with the New Woman figures such as Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. In fact it was a proverb long before it was a play title. All's Well That Ends Well Helena, the orphan daughter of a famous physician, is the ward of the Countess of Rousillon, and hopelessly in love with her son, Count Bertram, who has been sent to the court of the King of France. [16] This, together with unsubstantiated tales of more illnesses befalling other actresses during the run, gave the play an "unlucky" reputation, similar to that attached to Macbeth, and this may have curtailed the number of subsequent revivals. However, the axiom was known and used for hundreds of years before that time. All’s Well That Ends Lyrics The colder the night, the warmer your hands hold Held in your arms, the hole in my head grows whole I don't wanna to die alone, but I don't wanna die at all He says that he will only marry her after she has carried his child and wears his family ring. Helena meets Diana. [15][17], Henry Woodward (1714–1777) popularised the part of Parolles in the era of David Garrick. Helena is a young woman who loves Bertram, son of her protectress. Bertram refuses to consummate their marriage. I do beseech you, whither is he gone? Learn More about all's well that ends well Share all's well that ends well Helena returns home to the countess, who is horrified at what her son has done, and claims Helena as her child in Bertram's place. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL yet, Though time seem so adverse and means unfit. Some suggest that Bertram's conversion is meant to be sudden and magical in keeping with the 'clever wench performing tasks to win an unwilling higher born husband' theme of the play. [18] Sporadic performances followed in the ensuing decades, with an operatic version at Covent Garden in 1832. In All's Well That Ends Well, a woman is given in marriage to the man she longs for, but, because she is of lower rank, he refuses to accept the marriage. The play is considered one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", a play that poses complex ethical dilemmas that require more than typically simple solutions.[3]. The cinematic dialogue is a parody of the play Waiting For Godot. The title of All's Well that Ends Well marks the play's interest in positive resolutions and happy endings. The King is sceptical, and she guarantees the cure with her life: if he dies, she will be put to death, but if he lives, she may choose a husband from the How on earth was he supposed to get close to someone who hated him? 'All's well that ends well; still the fine's the crown Whate'er the course, the end is the renown' Helena, physician's daughter of humble birth, cures the King of France, and in return is promised the hand of any nobleman she wishes. Helena, the low-born ward of a French-Spanish countess, is in love with the countess's son Bertram, who is indifferent to her. Join us as we perform a reading of The Bard's work with professional actors from around the world. Schoff, Francis G., "Claudio, Bertram, and a Note on Interpretation", This page was last edited on 10 March 2021, at 21:00. In 1741 the work was played at Goodman's Fields, with a later transfer to Drury Lane. Indeed, one of the defining features of comedy as a genre is this kind of happy ending that supposedly makes the problems of the play go away, such that all really is well that ends well. Bertram rejects her and leaves a list of tasks that she must do to have him acknowledge their marriage. The quest name could be derived from the Shakespeare play All's Well That Ends Well. In Italy, Bertram is a successful warrior and also a successful seducer of local virgins. Helena, the low-born ward of a French-Spanish countess, is in love with the countess's son Bertram, who is indifferent to her. Bertram goes to Paris to replace his late father as attendant to the ailing King of France. 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