All's Well That Ends Well Literary Elements

Drama; comedy; problem play

English

17th-century France and Italy

There is no singular narrator in the play.

Ironic, playful

The protagonist of the play is Helena. At times, Bertram is the antagonist of the play, as he rejects his wife and his duties as a husband. Parolles is also a type of antagonist, as he deceives those around him to garner a good reputation.

The central conflict of the play is that Bertram refuses to consummate his marriage to Helena and become a supportive husband because he thinks Helena is not of a high enough social class to be his wife.

The climax of the play occurs when Bertram falls for the bed trick and unknowingly sleeps with Helena instead of Diana.

Bertram's letter telling Helena that she must wear his ring and bear his child before he will acknowledge their marriage foreshadows Helena's eventual triumph over her husband.

Characters often use understatement to speak euphemistically about women's virginity, comparing it to a flower that is plucked.

The play contains a number of allusions to ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture. It is also believed that the play is based on the tale of Giletta di Narbone of Boccaccio's The Decameron.

Important imagery in the play includes stars, flowers, Bertram's scar, and likeness in appearance.

Many critics cite the play's paradoxical nature as one of its major shortcomings. Helena is a beautiful woman who falls in love with a man of higher social status but lesser moral righteousness. Bertram is arrogant and not worthy of Helena's affections. Despite this, Helena obsessively pursues Bertram even after he straightforwardly refuses to marry her and live with her as her husband.

The play draws a parallel between the two schemes planned by female characters and male characters. The women of the play plot an elaborate scheme to trick Bertram into sleeping with Helena, while the men plot a scheme to trick Parolles into believing he was captured. The women's scheme is presented as markedly more high stakes and cleverly organized.

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The play is not known for its use of dramatic devices, and indeed often skips opportunities to present certain complicated scenes (like the bed trick) on the stage. This absence of dramatic flair is another shortcoming that critics often cite regarding the play's lack of popularity.