All's Well That Ends Well

By William Shakespeare

First published within Shakespeare's "First Folio" of 1623, "All's Well That Ends Well", rides a fascinating dramatic line between the comedy and the tragedy. The play tells the story of Helena, a penniless worker at the Palace of Rousillion, and her cunning adventures to wed Bertram, the prosperous son of Rousillion. When Helena rids the King of France of a peculiar illness, she is rewarded the hand of Bertram. Faced with hesitancy from Bertram, she devises a most devious plan to birth his son and keep his ring. Based on Baccacio's, "The Decameron", the play energizes a classic theme of love conflicted by class. Full of the expected wit and ardor of Shakespeare, "All's Well That Ends Well" defies typical genre classification, remaining an anomaly among the Shakespearean canon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781596254633

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

Book preview

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

A Digireads.com Book

Digireads.com Publishing

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3215-7

Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-59625-463-3

This edition copyright © 2011

Please visit www.digireads.com

CONTENTS

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ACT I.

SCENE I. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

SCENE II. Paris. The King's palace.

SCENE III. Rousillon. The Count's Palace.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Paris. The King's palace.

SCENE II. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

SCENE III. Paris. The King's palace.

SCENE IV. Paris. The King's Palace.

SCENE V. Paris. The King's Palace.

ACT III.

SCENE I. Florence. The Duke's palace.

SCENE II. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

SCENE III. Florence. Before the Duke's palace.

SCENE IV. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

SCENE V. Without the walls of Florence.

SCENE VI. Camp before Florence.

SCENE VII. Florence. The Widow's house.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. Without the Florentine camp.

SCENE II. Florence. The Widow's house.

SCENE III. The Florentine camp.

SCENE IV. Florence. The Widow's house.

SCENE V. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

ACT V.

SCENE I. Marseilles. A street.

SCENE II. Rousillon. The inner court of the Count's palace.

SCENE III. The same. The Count's palace.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

KING OF FRANCE

THE DUKE OF FLORENCE

BERTRAM, Count of Rousillon

LAFEU, an old Lord

PAROLLES, a follower of Bertram

Two French Lords serving with Bertram

Steward, LAVACHE, a clown, A Page, servants to the Countess of Rousillon

COUNTESS OF ROUSILLON, mother to Bertram

HELENA, a gentlewoman protected by the Countess

A Widow of Florence

DIANA, daughter to the Widow

VIOLENTA, MARIANA, neighbours and friends to the Widow

Lords, Officers; Soldiers, etc., French and Florentine.

THE SCENE: ROUSILLON; PARIS; FLORENCE; MARSEILLES.

ACT I.

SCENE I. Rousillon. The Count's palace.

[Enter BERTRAM, the COUNTESS OF ROUSILLON, HELENA, and LAFEU, all in black.]

COUNTESS. In delivering my son from me, I bury a second husband.

BERTRAM. And I in going, madam, weep o'er my father's death anew; but I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward, evermore in subjection.

LAFEU. You shall find of the king a husband, madam;—you, sir, a father. He that so generally is at all times good, must of necessity hold his virtue to you; whose worthiness would stir it up where it wanted, rather than lack it where there is such abundance.

COUNTESS. What hope is there of his majesty's amendment?

LAFEU. He hath abandoned his physicians, madam; under whose practices he hath persecuted time with hope; and finds no other advantage in the process but only the losing of hope by time.

COUNTESS. This young gentlewoman had a father—O, that 'had!' how sad a passage 'tis!—whose skill was almost as great as his honesty; had it stretched so far, would have made nature immortal, and death should have play for lack of work. Would, for the king's sake, he were living! I think it would be the death of the king's disease.

LAFEU. How called you the man you speak of, madam?

COUNTESS. He was famous, sir, in his profession, and it was his great right to be so—Gerard de Narbon.

LAFEU. He was excellent indeed, madam; the king very lately spoke of him admiringly and mourningly; he was skilful enough to have liv'd still, if knowledge could be set up against mortality.

BERTRAM. What is it, my good lord, the king languishes of?

LAFEU. A fistula, my lord.

BERTRAM. I heard not of it before.

LAFEU. I would it were not notorious. Was this gentlewoman the daughter of Gerard de Narbon?

COUNTESS. His sole child, my lord, and bequeathed to my overlooking. I have those hopes of her good that her education promises; her dispositions she inherits, which makes fair gifts fairer; for where an unclean mind carries virtuous qualities, there commendations go with pity—they are virtues and traitors too. In her they are the better for their simpleness; she derives her honesty, and achieves her goodness.

LAFEU. Your commendations, madam, get from her tears.

COUNTESS. 'Tis the best brine a maiden can season her praise in. The remembrance of her father never approaches her heart but the tyranny of her sorrows takes all livelihood from her cheek. No more of this, Helena; go to, no more, lest it be rather thought you affect a sorrow than to have—

HELENA. I do affect a sorrow indeed; but I have it too.

LAFEU. Moderate lamentation is the right of the dead; excessive grief the enemy to the living.

COUNTESS. If the living be enemy to the grief, the excess makes it soon mortal.

BERTRAM. Madam, I desire your holy wishes.

LAFEU. How understand we that?

COUNTESS. Be thou blest, Bertram, and succeed thy father

In manners, as in shape! Thy blood and virtue

Contend for empire in thee, and thy goodness

Share with thy birthright! Love all, trust a few,

Do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy

Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend

Under thy own life's key: be check'd for silence,

But never tax'd for speech. What heaven more will,

That thee may furnish and my prayers pluck down,

Fall on thy head! Farewell. My lord,

'Tis an unseason'd courtier; good my lord,

Advise him.

LAFEU. He cannot want the best

That shall attend his love.

COUNTESS. Heaven bless him! Farewell, Bertram.

[Exit Countess.]

BERTRAM. The best wishes that can be forg'd in your thoughts be servants to you! [To Helena.] Be comfortable to my mother, your mistress, and make much of her.

LAFEU. Farewell, pretty lady: you must hold the credit of your father.

[Exeunt Bertram and Lafeu.]

HELENA. O, were that all! I think not on my father;

And these great tears grace his remembrance more

Than those I shed for him. What was he like?

I have forgot him; my imagination

Carries no favour in't but Bertram's.

I am undone: there is no living, none,

If Bertram be away. It were all one

That I should love a bright particular star,

And think to wed it, he is so above me.

In his bright radiance and collateral light

Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.

The ambition in my love thus plagues itself:

The hind that would be mated by the lion

Must die for love. 'Twas pretty, though a plague,

To see him every hour; to sit and draw

His arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls,

In our heart's table—heart too capable

Of every line and trick of his sweet favour:

But now he's gone, and my idolatrous fancy

Must sanctify his relics. Who comes here?

[Enter PAROLLES.]

[Aside] One that goes with him: I love him for his sake;

And yet I know him a notorious liar,

Think him a great way fool, solely a coward;

Yet these fix'd evils sit so fit in him

That they take place when virtue's steely bones

Looks bleak i' the cold wind: withal, full oft we see

Cold wisdom waiting on superfluous folly.

PAROLLES. Save you, fair queen!

HELENA. And you, monarch!

PAROLLES. No.

HELENA. And no.

PAROLLES. Are you meditating on virginity?

HELENA. Ay. You have some stain of soldier in you: let me ask you a question. Man is enemy to virginity; how may we barricado it against him?

PAROLLES. Keep him out.

HELENA. But he assails; and our virginity, though valiant in the defence, yet is weak: unfold to us

Reviews for All's Well That Ends Well

[amerynth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[caseybp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[jhudsui_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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 sound characters in this mess? His letter to Diana sounds like he's giving her decent honest advice.

[cmbohn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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 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!

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good everyman edition, although it still struggles with the issues that this play raises (not that I have the answers either!)

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I agree with critics who ask why would the heroine bother to win this unpleasant young man, I do enjoy it overall

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[astrologerjenny · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 that, even after you accidentally impregnated her while thinking you were sleeping with a French virgin!

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.