SOURCE: Parker, R. B. “War and Sex in All's Well That Ends Well.” Shakespeare Survey 37 (1984): 99-113.
In the following essay, Parker addresses the tension between ideals of love and war in All's Well That Ends Well. The critic suggests that the principal function of the war in the play is to provide an outlet for Bertram and the other French courtiers to express their aggression, achieve some measure of fame, and—in the case of Bertram—escape responsibilities.
