This may account, some believe, for the play's unbelievable nature and thus its failure as a comedy. The events of the play, in which a low-born woman schemes to marry a count and wins both his ring and his child by switching places with another woman during an illicit rendezvous (a tactic known as the bed-trick), has its roots in folk tales. Shakespeare fleshed out the story by adding the characters of Parolles, the Countess of Rossillion, Lavache, and Lafew. Shakespeare's primary inspiration for the plot of All's Well That Ends Well was William Painter's collection of stories The Palace of Pleasures (1575), which itself was an English translation of 'Giletta of Narbonne,' a story in Giovanni Boccaccio's collection of folk tales called the Decameron (1353). The problem plays are more similar in tone and theme to Shakespeare's tragedies than they are to his romantic comedies. This declaration comes on the heels of a rather devious scheme and is not prompted by a personal revelation deep enough to be convincing to the audience. The problem refers to the cynical nature of the plot's resolution, in which Bertram, a rather unbecoming hero who is sought after by a woman who is too good for him, has a last-minute change of heart and vows to love Helena, his wife, forever. This sketchy history indicates that the play did not attract much attention when it was first written and performed, a testament to its status as a lesser work in Shakespeare's canon.Īll's Well That Ends Well has often been called one of Shakespeare's problem plays or dark comedies, a category that usually includes Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida. Some commentators have theorized that the uneven nature of the play suggests that it was written at two different times in Shakespeare's life. Conversely, some critics note similarities between the tone and style of the play with that of Measure for Measure, which was written in 1604. Attempts to date the play have involved a bit of detective work regarding some of its language, particularly Helen's letter to the countess in act 3, which exemplifies Shakespeare's less-sophisticated early style. The first written mention of the play under its current title appeared in 1623, when it was licensed to be printed in Shakespeare's Folio.

Others believe that the play is the lost Shakespearean drama titled Love's Labour Won, which was written before 1598. All's Well That Ends Well was probably written sometime between 16, and many experts date the work to 1603.

Shakespeare quotes about endings