All's Well That Ends Well

All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The depiction of Helen and Bertram is emblematic of Shakespeare’s show not tell approach to drama. We don’t really know why Helen loves Bertram, neither is it very clear why Bertram rejects Helen. Motivation is left open to interpretation, something that actors can define in performance. Despite that openness, this is not a much-loved play. Bertram’s caddishness makes him clearly unsatisfactory as an aspirational love-interest for the intrepid Helen. The resolution of the “comedy” is distinctly uncomfortable and provisional – an explicit rejection of the harmony demanded by endings in the genre. Is a marriage cobbled together by underhand means a justified end? As usual, Shakespeare leaves the question hanging and refuses to provide an answer.

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