Waller, Gary, "From 'the Unfortunate Comedy' to 'this Infinitely Fascinating Play,' the Critical and Theatrical Emergence of All's Well That Ends Well," in All's Well That Ends Well: New Critical Essays (2007), pp. 1-56. Excellent, varied collection of essays, covering aspects of the play from structure to genre, religion, gender politics, and performance.
Zitner, Sheldon P., All's Well That Ends Well: Harvester New Critical Introductions to Shakespeare (1989). Good overview of play's critical reception and discussion of its status as a "problem play."
THE PLAY IN PERFORMANCE
Dobson, Michael, "Shakespeare Performances in England, 2004," in Shakespeare Survey 58 (2005), pp. 268-297. Detailed, thoughtful discussion.
Magoulias, Michael, ed., Shakespearean Criticism 26 (1995). Useful overview of stage history with a good selection of reviews.
Price, Joseph G., The Unfortunate Comedy: A Study of All's Well That Ends Well (1968). Dated but still useful: Part I covers stage history, including chapters on the Kemble "Text" and "All's Well in America." Part II discusses the critical history to 1964.
Styan, J. L., Shakespeare in Performance: All's Well that Ends Well (1984). Detailed analysis of the play in performance, focusing on important twentieth-century productions.
Waller, Gary, "The Critical and Theatrical Emergence of All's Well That Ends Well," in All's Well That Ends Well: New Critical Essays (2007), pp. 1-56. Excellent, varied collection of essays, covering aspects of the play from structure to genre, religion, gender politics, and performance.
AVAILABLE ON DVD
All's Well that Ends Well directed by Elijah Moshinsky for BBC Shakespeare (1981, DVD 2006). Starring Angela Down, Ian Charleson, Michael Hordern, Celia Johnson, and Donald Sinden, it won both BAFTA and RTS awards and was considered one of the best of the BBC Shakespeare series.
REFERENCES
1. The Works of Shakespeare, ed. Samuel Johnson (1765), vol. 3, p. 399.
2. A. W. Schlegel, Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature (1808-11), in The Romantics on Shakespeare, ed. Jonathan Bate (1992), p. 260.
3. George Bernard Shaw, letter to Janet Achurch, 23 April 1895. On Helen as proto-Ibsenite heroine, see The "Shakespearean Law," in Shaw on Shakespeare: An Anthology of Bernard Shaw's Writings on the Plays and Production of Shakespeare, ed. Edwin Wilson (1961), p. 240.
4. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets, ed. T. Ashe (1900), p. 298.
5. Coleridge, from Table-Talk, 1 July 1833, in Coleridge's Criticism of Shakespeare: A Selection, ed. R. A. Foakes (1989), p. 176.
6. Anna Jameson, Characteristics of Women: Moral, Poetical, and Historical (1832, reprinted 1879), p. 125.
7. Ellen Terry, Four Lectures on Shakespeare (1932), cited by Joseph G. Price, The Unfortunate Comedy: A Study of All's Well That Ends Well and its Critics (1968), pp. 99-100.
8. Coleridge, Table-Talk, p. 176.
9. Sheldon P. Zitner, All's Well That Ends Well (1989), p. 13.
10. Price, The Unfortunate Comedy, p. 134.
11. Price, The Unfortunate Comedy, p. 135.
12. James L. Calderwood, "Styles of Knowing in All's Well," Modern Language Quarterly 25 (1964), p. 274.
13. W. W. Lawrence, Shakespeare's Problem Comedies (1931), p. 32.
14. David McCandless, "Helena's Bed-Trick: Gender and Performance in All's Well That Ends Well," Shakespeare Quarterly, 45 (1994), p. 450.
15. Barbara Everitt, ed., All's Well That Ends Well (1970), p. 16.
16. A. P. Rossiter, Angel with Horns, and other Shakespeare Lectures (1961), p. 87.
17. R. B. Parker, "War and Sex in All's Well That Ends Well," Shakespeare Survey 37 (1984), p. 105.
18. Northrop Frye, The Myth of Deliverance: Reflections on Shakespeare's Problem Comedies (1983), p. 49.
19. Frye, The Myth of Deliverance, p. 55.
20. Rossiter, Angel with Horns, p. 85.
21. J. Dennis Huston, " 'Some Stain of Soldier': The Functions of Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well," Shakespeare Quarterly 21 (1970), p. 433.
22. Frye, The Myth of Deliverance, p. 52.
23. Calderwood, "Styles of Knowing in All's Well," p. 274.
24. John Barton, in "Directing Problem Plays: John Barton talks to Gareth Lloyd Evans" (1972), in Aspects of Shakespeare's "Problem Plays," ed. Kenneth Muir and Stanley Wells (1982), p. 5.
25. Athenaeum, No. 1297, 4 September 1852, p. 955.
26. William Archer, review of All's Well That Ends Well, in The Theatrical "World" of 1895 (1896), pp. 37-41.
27. George Bernard Shaw, "Poor Shakespear!," in Our Theatres in the Nineties, Vol. I (1932), pp. 24-30.
28. Joseph G. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity," in The Unfortunate Comedy: A Study of All's Well That Ends Well and Its Critics (1968), pp. 43-72.
29. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
30. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
31. Robert Speaight, William Poel and the Elizabethan Revival (1954), quoted in Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
32. T. Moult, Athenaeum, 4 June 1920, quoted in Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
33. John Francis Hope, The New Age, Vol. XXX, No. 7, 15 December 1921, p. 82.
34. Hope, The New Age.
35. Hope, The New Age.
36. J. C. Trewin, The Birmingham Repertory Theatre: 1913-63 (1963), p. 90.
37. Trewin, The Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
38. Ivor Brown, Punch, Vol. CXCIX, No. 5, 195, 16 October 1940, p. 388.
39. Brown, Punch, Vol. CXCIX, No. 5, 195, 16 October 1940, p. 388.
40. Alan Dent, Manchester Guardian, October 1940, reprinted in Preludes & Studies (1942), pp. 102-29 and 121-22.
41. Herbert Whittaker, The Stratford Festival 1953-1957 (1958), pp. x-xv.
42. Tyrone Guthrie, "First Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ontario," in Renown at Stratford: A Record of the Shakespeare Festival in Canada, 1953 (1953), p. 49.
43. Guthrie, "First Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Ontario."
44. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
45. Tyrone Guthrie, "Shakespeare at Stratford, Ontario," in Shakespeare Survey 8 (1955), pp. 127-31.
46. Whittaker, The Stratford Festival 1953-1957.
47. Derek Monsey, Spectator 191(6535), 25 September 1953, pp. 322-23.
48. Roger Wood and Mary Clarke, Shakespeare at the Old Vic (1954), pp. 12-16.
49. Wood and Clarke, Shakespeare at the Old Vic.
50. Wood and Clarke, Shakespeare at the Old Vic.
51. Monsey, Spectator.
52. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
53. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
54. Price, "The Director and the Search for Unity."
55. The Times (London), 22 April 1959.
56. A. Alvarez, New Statesman LVII(1,467), 25 April 1959.
57. M. St. Clare Byrne, "The Shakespeare Season at The Old Vic, 1958-59 and Stratford-upon-Avon, 1959," Shakespeare Quarterly X, Autumn 1959, pp. 545-67.
58. Patrick Gibbs, New York Times, 22 April 1959.
59. St. Clare Byrne, "The Shakespeare Season at The Old Vic, 1958-59 and Stratford-upon-Avon, 1959."
60. Alan Brien, Spectator 202(6826), 1959, pp. 577, 579.
61. Joseph G. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres," in The Unfortunate Comedy: A Study of All's Well That Ends Well and Its Critics (1968), pp. 43-72.
62. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres."
63. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres."
64. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres."
65. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres."
66. Price, "All's Well in America and in the Minor Theatres."
67. Henry Hewes, quoted in Shakespearean Criticism 26, 1995, p. 3.
68. G. K. Hunter, "A Review of All's Well that Ends Well
," in Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews, ed. J. C. Bulman and H. R. Coursen (1988), pp. 185-87.
69. Jeremy Treglown, "Camera Cuts," Times Literary Supplement, 9 January 1981, p. 33.
70. Treglown, "Camera Cuts."
71. Hunter, "A Review of All's Well that Ends Well."
72. Hunter, "A Review of All's Well that Ends Well."
73. Jeremy Gerard, Variety 352(2), 23 August 1993, p. 23.
74. Robert Brustein, New Republic 209(14), 14 October 1993, pp. 32-34.
75. Brustein, New Republic.
76. Gerard, Variety.
77. Brustein, New Republic.
78. Grevel Lindop, "Cold Wars and Boors," Times Literary Supplement 4878, 27 September 1996, p. 19.
79. Lindop, "Cold Wars and Boors."
80. Lindop, "Cold Wars and Boors."
81. Robert Smallwood, "Shakespeare Performances in England, 1997," Shakespeare Survey 51 (1998), pp. 219-55.
82. Smallwood, "Shakespeare Performances in England, 1997."
83. Smallwood, "Shakespeare Performances in England, 1997."
84. Michael Billington, Guardian, 29 May 2009.
85. Billington, Guardian, 29 May 2009.
86. Naomi Siegel, New York Times, Theater Review/NY Region, 24 September 2010.
87. Bob Rendell, Talkin' Broadway, 29 September 2010.
88. Rendell, Talkin' Broadway, 29 September 2010.
89. Siegel, New York Times, Theater Review/NY Region, 24 September 2010.
90. Siegel, New York Times, Theater Review/NY Region, 24 September 2010.
91. J. L. Styan, Shakespeare in Performance: All's Well That Ends Well (1984), p. 1.
92. Birmingham Mail, 2 June 1967.
93. Desmond Pratt, Yorkshire Post, 2 June 1967.
94. J. C. Trewin, Illustrated London News, 10 June 1967.
95. Milton Schulman, Evening Standard, 2 June 1967.
96. Schulman, Evening Standard, 2 June 1967.
97. Michael Billington, Guardian, 7 July 1982.
98. Tom Vaughan, Morning Star, 8 July 1982.
99. Christopher Hudson, Standard, 7 July 1982.
100. J. L. Styan, Shakespeare in Performance: All's Well that Ends Well (2007), pp. 115-16, quoting Roger Warren, Shakespeare Quarterly 34(1) (1983), p. 80.
101. James Fenton, Sunday Times (London), 11 July 1982.
102. B. A. Young, Financial Times, 6 July 1982.
103. Young, Financial Times, 6 July 1982.
104. John Barber, Daily Telegraph, 7 July 1982.
105. Gary Waller, All's Well that Ends Well: New Critical Essays (2007), p. 23.
106. Charles Osborne, Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1989.
107. Paul Lapworth, Stratford Herald, 13 October 1989.
108. Waller, All's Well That Ends Well, p. 23.
109. Michael Billington, Guardian, 12 October 1989.
110. Terry Grimley, Birmingham Post, 10 October 1989.
111. Paul Taylor, Independent, 12 October 1989.
112. Michael Coveney, Financial Times, 11 October 1989.
113. Billington, Guardian, 12 October 1989.
114. Michael Billington, Guardian, 3 July 1992.
115. Martin Dodsworth, Times Literary Supplement, 10 July 1992.
116. Margaret Ingram, Stratford Herald, 10 July 1992.
117. Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 2 July 1992.
118. Dodsworth, Times Literary Supplement, 10 July 1992.
119. Terry Grimley, Birmingham Post, 2 July 1992.
120. Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard, 1 July 1992.
121. Billington, Guardian, 3 July 1992.
122. Malcolm Rutherford, Financial Times, 2 July 1992, p. 19.
123. Paul Taylor, Independent, 2 July 1992.
124. Dodsworth, Times Literary Supplement, 10 July 1992.
125. Michael Billington, Guardian, 12 December 2003.
126. Paul Taylor, Independent, 15 December 2003.
127. Robert Hewison, Sunday Times, 21 December 2003.
128. Kate Kellaway, Observer, 14 December 2003.
129. Hewison, Sunday Times, 21 December 2003.
130. Alastair Macaulay, Financial Times, 15 December 2003.
131. Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard, 12 December 2003.
132. Michael Dobson, Shakespeare Survey 58 (2005), p. 270.
133. Dobson, Shakespeare Survey 58, pp. 273-74.
134. Kellaway, Observer, 14 December 2003.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND
PICTURE CREDITS
Preparation of "All's Well That Ends Well in Performance" was assisted by a generous grant from the CAPITAL Centre (Creativity and Performance in Teaching and Learning) of the University of Warwick for research in the RSC archive at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The second half of the introduction, "The Critics Debate," draws extensively on a longer survey prepared for us by Sarah Carter.
Thanks as always to our indefatigable and eagle-eyed copy editor Tracey Day and to Ray Addicott for overseeing the production process with rigor and calmness.
Picture research by Michelle Morton. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for assistance with picture research (special thanks to Helen Hargest) and reproduction fees.
Images of RSC productions are supplied by the Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, Stratford-upon-Avon. This library, maintained by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, holds the most important collection of Shakespeare material in the UK, including the Royal Shakespeare Company's official archive. It is open to the public free of charge.
For more information see www.shakespeare.org.uk.
1. Directed by Tyrone Guthrie (1959). Angus McBean (c) Royal Shakespeare Company 2. Directed by John Barton (1967). Tom Holte (c) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 3. Directed by Trevor Nunn (1981). Joe Cocks Studio Collection (c) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 4. Directed by Barry Kyle (1989). Joe Cocks Studio Collection (c) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
5. Directed by Peter Hall (1992). Malcolm Davies (c) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 6. Directed by Stephen Fried (2010). (c) Gerry Goodstein
7. Directed by Gregory Doran (2003). Manuel Harlan (c) Royal Shakespeare Company 8. Directed by Gregory Doran (2003). Manuel Harlan (c) Royal Shakespeare Company 9. Reconstructed Elizabethan Playhouse (c) Charcoalblue
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List of parts
HELEN perhaps named after Helen of Troy, reputedly the most beautiful woman in the world and the cause of a great war LAFEW some editions modernize to "lafeu" (feu, French for "fire") Act 1 Scene 1
1.1 Location: Rossillion (now Roussillon), ancient province in southern France, near the Pyrenees mountains
1 delivering sending forth (plays on the sense of "giving birth") 4 attend obey, heed
5 in ward under guardianship (as a minor who has inherited property) 5 subjection obedience, servitude as a subject/legal obligation 6 of in
6 husband i.e. protector
7 generally universally/to everyone
8 hold maintain
8 virtue benevolence
8 whose i.e. the Countess and Bertram
8 stir ... wanted provoke it even in those who lacked generosity 9 where ... abundance i.e. in the king
11 amendment recovery
13 practices medical treatments
13 persecuted time tormented his days/drawn out his suffering 17 passage turn of phrase/transition/event/death
18 honesty honor, integrity
20 Would I wish
24 Narbon Narbonne, southern French city near province of Roussillon 27 still yet/for ever
30 fistula ulcer
32 notorious widely known/evident
35 overlooking guardianship
35 hopes ... good i.e. high hopes for her
36 education upbringing
36 dispositions natural talents
37 unclean naturally corrupted
38 virtuous qualities fine learned accomplishments
38 go with pity are mingled with regret
40 simpleness unaffected simplicity (i.e. not mixed with vice) 40 derives inherits
43 season preserve/flavor
45 livelihood animation
46 Go to expression of dismissal (i.e. "come come")
47 affect assume/pretend to have
47 than to have rather than genuinely feel one