Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Pelican / Penguin Classics (1964), Paperback, 144 pages
Description
Drama. Fiction. HTML: Although originally classified as one of Shakespeare's comedies, All's Well That Ends Well is now more commonly classified as one of his ambiguous problem plays, so called because they defy neat classification as either comedy or tragedy. Helena, a servant harbors a secret love for Betram her mistresses' son. When the king becomes ill Helena promises to heal him if she is allowed to marry any man of her choosing. Helena's father is a renowned physician and the young girl having inherited his knowledge saves the king and Bertram is chosen as her husband. The one sided affair soon blossoms into requited love and all's well that ends well..
User reviews
LibraryThing member trinityofone
By far the weirdest Shakespeare play that I have ever read. And not in a good, "exit, pursued by a bear" kind of way.
LibraryThing member antiquary
Although I agree with critics who ask why would the heroine bother to win this unpleasant young man, I do enjoy it overall
LibraryThing member cmbohn
Well, it does end with Helena and Bertram married and living together, but he's a big jerk so I'm not sure why she wants him.
Helena is the daughter of a gifted physician, recently deceased. Bertram is a Count, newly become ward of the King of France. She heals the king and asks for Bertram as her
I read the preface in this edition, which suggests that Shakespeare was adapting earlier stories, so the lame plot may not be entirely his fault.
I also hated the "clown" parts in this which just weren't funny at all. Then there are all these completely extraneous scenes and dialogues that just slow the action down and make my eyes gloss over. In the theater, that would be the time to run to the restroom.
There are a few good lines in here though. Most of them are at the beginning, so you could just stop there. Shakespeare seems to give the best lines to Helena and the King. He must have been playing favorites.
Absolutely not his best. I know that seeing the play is always better, but it just couldn't save this play. Don't bother!
Helena is the daughter of a gifted physician, recently deceased. Bertram is a Count, newly become ward of the King of France. She heals the king and asks for Bertram as her
Show More
husband for her reward. He (Bertram) is disgusted by her low rank and runs off to fight a war in Italy. For some totally unknown reason, she thinks it's her fault and sets off on a pilgrimage. Which just happens to take her to Italy.I read the preface in this edition, which suggests that Shakespeare was adapting earlier stories, so the lame plot may not be entirely his fault.
I also hated the "clown" parts in this which just weren't funny at all. Then there are all these completely extraneous scenes and dialogues that just slow the action down and make my eyes gloss over. In the theater, that would be the time to run to the restroom.
There are a few good lines in here though. Most of them are at the beginning, so you could just stop there. Shakespeare seems to give the best lines to Helena and the King. He must have been playing favorites.
Absolutely not his best. I know that seeing the play is always better, but it just couldn't save this play. Don't bother!
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
Helena, a physician's daughter, falls in love with a nobleman, Bertram. She cures the king with the stipulation that he will give her Bertram as her husband. They marry, but Bertram can't stand her and leaves before they even spend one night together. He gives her a brush off and says she isn't his
Helena is a witty and resourceful woman and comes up with a way to trick him into impregnating her. All's Well That Ends Well... I guess. So Helena wins over her husband, who doesn't like her, by tricking him. In my opinion Helena's love and efforts are completely wasted on a selfish jerk. Even Bertram's mother thinks that Helena is a wonderful wife for her son. I wish Helena would have wised up and picked a different guy from the get-go. The play has Shakespeare classic puns and double entendres, but it's not one of my favorites of his.
Show More
real wife until she bears him a child... but he won't sleep with her. He then tries to court another woman. Helena is a witty and resourceful woman and comes up with a way to trick him into impregnating her. All's Well That Ends Well... I guess. So Helena wins over her husband, who doesn't like her, by tricking him. In my opinion Helena's love and efforts are completely wasted on a selfish jerk. Even Bertram's mother thinks that Helena is a wonderful wife for her son. I wish Helena would have wised up and picked a different guy from the get-go. The play has Shakespeare classic puns and double entendres, but it's not one of my favorites of his.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MaryLou0
This is my favourite Shakespearian comedy, but I seem to be unusual in this. Trust me to be awkward! I liked Helena's strength and determination.
A lot of people have reservations about the the last scene. I am in some ways an incorrigble romantic and tended to think that while there may well be
Bertram has come to realise that he did care for Helena after all and when she is the means of his rescue from his disgrace at Diana's hands he capitulation is absolute, as Professor Tillyard pointed out. We can be confident that they are physically attunded and that she will keep him from behaving shabbily in the future.
Jessica
A lot of people have reservations about the the last scene. I am in some ways an incorrigble romantic and tended to think that while there may well be
Show More
text missing (as in so many of Shakespeare's plays) it makes sense even as it stands, and there is no need to think it is meant cynically. Bertram has come to realise that he did care for Helena after all and when she is the means of his rescue from his disgrace at Diana's hands he capitulation is absolute, as Professor Tillyard pointed out. We can be confident that they are physically attunded and that she will keep him from behaving shabbily in the future.
Jessica
Show Less
LibraryThing member amerynth
I found "All's Well that Ends Well" to be really uneven. Helena is in love with Bertram, who apparently hates her for no reason and treats her shabbily... apparently that's incredibly attractive. Of course, with the title the play has, you can guess it's all going to go swimmingly well for Helena
Actually, Helena was a pretty interesting character as far as Shakespeare's women go. However, there seemed to be a lot of filler conversations (mostly by a clown in a bunch a dialog that perhaps just hasn't aged well.
Overall, I just found this one kind of bland.
Show More
even if she has to trick her way into it.Actually, Helena was a pretty interesting character as far as Shakespeare's women go. However, there seemed to be a lot of filler conversations (mostly by a clown in a bunch a dialog that perhaps just hasn't aged well.
Overall, I just found this one kind of bland.
Show Less
LibraryThing member astrologerjenny
Bertram! You're such an idiot! It's a good thing your mother and your sweetheart are so wise and forbearing. By rights, you should be thrown to the dogs at the end of this play for acting like a total jackass, but since you're the hero, you get to be redeemed. And Helena still loves you, imagine
Show More
that, even after you accidentally impregnated her while thinking you were sleeping with a French virgin! Show Less
LibraryThing member nmhale
Sometimes designated as a problem play, because it handles social issues with conflicting points of view, this comedy ends with the typical marriage and reconciliation, but the resolution feels far from happy. The story concerns Helena and Bertram as the main couple, with a host of other characters
Helena is a complex character. Her love for Bertram is almost incomprehensible, but she is unquestionably clever. She knows the king is dying from an illness no one has been able to cure. She also believes that her father knew the solution, and she concocts a plan. She meets with the king, who is unwilling to trust a woman, and they make a bargain: if she heals him, he will grant her the chance to choose her own husband; if she fails, he will kill her.
Helena does heal the king, and when her request is granted, she chooses Bertram as her husband. Unfortunately, Bertram the evil has no interest in his mother's ward, and prefers running off to war over heading to the marriage bed. Even though the reader already loves Helena, Bertram's anger at a forced marriage is sympathetic, perhaps, if it weren't for his cowardly way of handling it. But Bertram's later actions quickly reveal a shallow and dark nature. With evil influence Parrolles by his side, he whores around France and takes pleasure in seducing virgins, drinking and carousing when not involved in battles. Bertram's only redeeming virtue is that he actually is a good solider. Despite his abandonment, and cruel and cowardly letter that accuses Helena with words he wouldn't use in person, Helena is still in love with Bertram. In fact, she feels responsible for his going off to war, and decides that she should take a pilgrimage and leave the country, so that he can feel free to return home.
Her voyage coincidentally takes her to the same place where Bertram's troop is stationed - although as Helena's cunning is more and more apparent, coincidentally may not be accurate. She meets the young lady that Bertram is currently trying to seduce, and tells Diana and her mother her story of woe. They agree to assist her in an unorthodox plan, where Helena hides in Diana's darkened room and sleeps with her husband while he thinks she is someone else. That sounds like the course to disaster, but everything technically works out in the end, when Helena reveals herself and Bertram declares that he now will love her forever and ever. Not only that, but Parrolles faces retribution for his evil actions, is taken on as a fool, and Diana is promised the king's aid.
The plot is clever, with a fast pace and compelling side characters. There are two deceptions pulled off to great effect - both Bertram's and Parrolles are revealed through trickery - and the dialogue shines with Shakespeare's wit. Bertram ruins this play for me, though, casting it far down on the list of comedies I would like to read or see staged. He is a arrogant and self-loving cad; at the end, the others exonerate him as being influenced by Parrolles, but I don't see any evidence of that in the play. Rather, he chose Parrolles as a match to his own dark nature.
Show More
that are much more interesting than Bertram. Bertram is a Count, and his mother took in Helena, the daughter of a famous doctor, after her parents died. The play opens with Bertram heading to court to serve under the king, and Helena grieving because she secretly loves him and can't stand to see him leave. Helena is a complex character. Her love for Bertram is almost incomprehensible, but she is unquestionably clever. She knows the king is dying from an illness no one has been able to cure. She also believes that her father knew the solution, and she concocts a plan. She meets with the king, who is unwilling to trust a woman, and they make a bargain: if she heals him, he will grant her the chance to choose her own husband; if she fails, he will kill her.
Helena does heal the king, and when her request is granted, she chooses Bertram as her husband. Unfortunately, Bertram the evil has no interest in his mother's ward, and prefers running off to war over heading to the marriage bed. Even though the reader already loves Helena, Bertram's anger at a forced marriage is sympathetic, perhaps, if it weren't for his cowardly way of handling it. But Bertram's later actions quickly reveal a shallow and dark nature. With evil influence Parrolles by his side, he whores around France and takes pleasure in seducing virgins, drinking and carousing when not involved in battles. Bertram's only redeeming virtue is that he actually is a good solider. Despite his abandonment, and cruel and cowardly letter that accuses Helena with words he wouldn't use in person, Helena is still in love with Bertram. In fact, she feels responsible for his going off to war, and decides that she should take a pilgrimage and leave the country, so that he can feel free to return home.
Her voyage coincidentally takes her to the same place where Bertram's troop is stationed - although as Helena's cunning is more and more apparent, coincidentally may not be accurate. She meets the young lady that Bertram is currently trying to seduce, and tells Diana and her mother her story of woe. They agree to assist her in an unorthodox plan, where Helena hides in Diana's darkened room and sleeps with her husband while he thinks she is someone else. That sounds like the course to disaster, but everything technically works out in the end, when Helena reveals herself and Bertram declares that he now will love her forever and ever. Not only that, but Parrolles faces retribution for his evil actions, is taken on as a fool, and Diana is promised the king's aid.
The plot is clever, with a fast pace and compelling side characters. There are two deceptions pulled off to great effect - both Bertram's and Parrolles are revealed through trickery - and the dialogue shines with Shakespeare's wit. Bertram ruins this play for me, though, casting it far down on the list of comedies I would like to read or see staged. He is a arrogant and self-loving cad; at the end, the others exonerate him as being influenced by Parrolles, but I don't see any evidence of that in the play. Rather, he chose Parrolles as a match to his own dark nature.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GlennBell
Witty, clever but difficult to understand the meaning of some discussion due to the use of obsolete or obscure wording. Mildly recommended for the historical value of a classical author.
LibraryThing member Coach_of_Alva
An unsatisfying romantic comedy about a scorned and abandoned wife's efforts to reclaim her husband. To compare this to Shakespeare's romantic comedies is like comparing a Katherine Heigl romcom to one of the great 1930s screwball films.
LibraryThing member jhudsui
This title of this comedy refers to the marriage that ensues as a result of its climactic rape so uh yeah this is another one that is up there with Taming Of The Shrew in failing to satisfy modern sensibilities.
Also it just me or is Parolles not only fairly okay but even one of the most morally
Also it just me or is Parolles not only fairly okay but even one of the most morally
Show More
sound characters in this mess? His letter to Diana sounds like he's giving her decent honest advice. Show Less
LibraryThing member caseybp
One of Shakespeare's "problem plays". It is contrived and a little confusing at times. I however loved the play. I think it is funny and clever despite it's problems.
LibraryThing member TobinElliott
It's taken me a few years to finally come back around to the rest of the Arkangel productions of Shakespeare's plays. Not sure why I suddenly stopped, I just did. But now I'm back.
This, to me, feels very much like one of Shakespeare's lesser plays. It's a relatively simple plot, one that I'm also
This one, to me, despite the usual fantastic efforts of Arkangel, was only okay.
This, to me, feels very much like one of Shakespeare's lesser plays. It's a relatively simple plot, one that I'm also
Show More
sure many would have a massive problem with (I'm not exactly fond of it myself). This one, to me, despite the usual fantastic efforts of Arkangel, was only okay.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Not one of my favorites of the Bard. Perhaps our modern ways have ruined this one, but for the life of me, I don't see why Helena is so taken with Bertram. He's an arrogant ass. You can do better, Helena, shame on you. Now I have to watch some performances of it, to see if they enlighten or enhance.
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Not one of my favourite plays by this author but interesting enough. A daughter of a physician saves the life of a king, and is rewarded by being married to one of his lesser sons. the boy, not a loveable fellow, runs off to avoid commitment, but is reconciled to the woman by a questionable act, on
Show More
her part. The Shakespearian audience seems to have liked this work betterthan odern audiences do. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
1623 (Folio)
Physical description
144 p.; 7 inches
ISBN
0140714308 / 9780140714302
Local notes
Pelican Shakespeare
Other editions
All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (Paperback)