In the following essay, McCandless focuses on the evolving gender roles of Helena and Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well, discussing Shakespeare's handling of the bed trick as a tool for exploring gender myths.

In the following essay, Bennett investigates the various comic techniques Shakespeare employed in All's Well That Ends Well, and argues that the play is more a comedy than a romance.

In the following essay, Parker suggests linkages between characters, scenes, and themes in All's Well That Ends Well, arguing that the sexual terms “increase” and “dilation” have economic, verbal, hermeneutic, and familial implications in the play.

In the following essay, Mukherji studies the legal and contractual obligations of Renaissance marriage dramatized in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Dash discusses the subject of women's sexual options within the patriarchal society of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Thomas stresses Shakespeare's deeply ambiguous treatment of honor and virtue in All's Well That Ends Well and claims that the play features a clash of personal and public moral perspectives that remain largely unresolved at its conclusion.

In the following essay, McCandless analyzes All's Well That Ends Well's concern with sexuality, and the importance of Helena's bed-trick to “the play's provocative interrogation of gender roles.”

In the following excerpt, Haley interprets All's Well That Ends Well as a moral play depicting Bertram's path to self-discovery and his transcendence of a courtly “crisis of honor.”

In the following essay, Simonds examines several matrimonial texts that were available to Shakespeare and his contemporaries in order demonstrate how Shakespeare's audience might have reacted to the characters of Bertram and Helena.

In the following essay, Ornstein surveys the plot and principal characters of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Hodgdon examines the gender theme on a structural level, revealing how Shakespeare's use of the various instances of doubling and substitution—most notably in the bed-trick scene—help to bring about the marital compromises that conclude the action of the play.

In the following essay, Adelman centers on Shakespeare's handling of the bed tricks in All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure and examines the plays' depictions of marriage as a socialized legitimation of sexuality.

In the following essay, Nevo asserts that All's Well That Ends Well should not be classified as a problem play since its structure resembles that of Shakespeare's earlier maturation comedies.

Ruth Nevo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem All's Well That Ends Well has been classified among the problem comedies, perhaps mainly because Bertram has failed to captivate; he has been found even more devoid of charm than Angelo in Measure for Measure, the companion "problem" comedy. Bertram is, as my students invariably inform me, a creep. And in this they have the critics on their side: that he is "a thoroughly disagreeable, peevish and vicious person" (Lawrence 1931, 61)...

In the following essay, McCandless sees Helena as a compelling romantic heroine whose chastity and sexual passion are inseparable elements of her character and important components of the play's theme of redemption.

In the following essay, Gross analyzes the ending of All's Well That Ends Well, and addresses the debate abut whether the audience should receive the convention of a "happy ending" with regard to this play.

In the following excerpt, Neely argues that as a "problem play, " an often corrupt sexuality, rather than romantic love, drives action and informs imagery, language, character, and plot of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Friedman focuses on the tension between Bertram's individualized sexual desires and the social necessity of legitimate procreation portrayed in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Miola studies Shakespeare's adaptation of Latin New Comedy in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Asp focuses on the reversal of power—inspired by Helena's desire—that allows Helena to succeed in her plans to win Bertram.

In the following essay, Asp analyzes the character of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well, maintaining that her motivations and actions point toward a re-evaluation of female desire and a critique of the patriarchal social order.

In the following essay, Leggatt explores the tension between elements of romance and elements of realism in All's Well That Ends Well, noting that this tension is never resolved and therefore lends an experimental quality to the play.

In the following essay, Cook assesses Shakespeare's portrayal of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well, contending that she generates and resolves a major portion of the play's action and establishes the play's principal values.

In the following essay, Hall investigates Helena's “upwardly mobile” desire in All's Well That Ends Well, contending that “her actions restore the very patriarchy which she seems to threaten.”

In the following essay, Roark asserts that Lavatch is an indicator of the failure of All's Well That Ends Well, noting that “[the fool fails to serve in the same way the play fails to serve.”]

In the following essay, Hunt explores the disintegration of the relationship between language and action in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Donaldson examines the numerous "endings" throughout the play, and argues that All's Well That Ends Well is more complex than it first seems.

In the following essay, Erickson examines Helena's disruption of the patriarchal order in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following excerpt, Price analyzes the structure and exposition of All's Well That Ends Well, and argues that the play is excellently balanced.

In the following excerpt, Williamson explores All's Well that Ends Well in light of the social and legal conventions used to control desire in the younger generations of the seventeenth century.

In the following essay, Richard traces Shakespeare's transition from comedies of plot to tragedies of character through an examination of the comedic villains of the problem plays, focusing in particular on Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well.

In this essay, Wheeler contends that, unlike the festive comedies, All's Well That Ends Well "presents an action in which parental figures are closely and actively involved in the steps that lead to marriage. "

In the following essay, Brennan discusses Helena in relation to the notion of time in All's Well That Ends Well, noting that she alone of the young people in the play has a strong connection with the older generation and that she actively struggles against the constraints of time to achieve her goals.

In the following essay, Cartelli suggests that the "problematic" ending of All's Well That Ends Well was purposely created by Shakespeare to prompt the audience to recognize its role as theater-goer, and notice the art of play making.

In the following essay, Calderwood surveys the principal themes and ambiguous conclusion of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Hill explores how familial relations and marriage eventually enable Bertram to assume his proper role within the comic plot of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Simpson probes the psychological and thematic function of loss, grief, and mourning in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Honigmann considers All's Well That Ends Well as a play that examines the consequences of female dominance, and studies Helena as an aggressive female character.

In the following essay, Levin argues that Helena accomplishes her goals in All's Well That Ends Well through guile and deceit, thus contributing to the play's categorization as a “problem comedy.”

In the following essay, Halio examines the sources, dramatic structure, and characters of All's Well That Ends Well, and contends that although fascinating and complex, the play is a failure.

In the following essay, Warren maintains that the personal emotions found in Shakespeare's sonnets provide some explanation of the puzzling conclusion of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Shapiro examines the theme of mutual redemption derived from self-knowledge in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Kastan explores the problematic view of comedy presented in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Ranald discusses the nature of Elizabethan matrimonial contracts in order to elucidate the marriage theme of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Snyder examines the diverse critical assessments of All's Well That Ends Well's Helena from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries.

In the following essay, Berkeley and Keesee study the treatment Shakespeare gives to the cross-class marriage in All's Well That Ends Well, and suggest Helena's position may reflect circumstances in Shakespeare's own life.

In the following essay, Snyder probes the characterization of Helena as a sexually aggressive woman through instances of indirect and suppressed speech in the play.

In the following essay, Free maintains that despite its conformity to comic formulae, comedy is thwarted in All's Wells That Ends Well through the play's representation of the power dynamics of marriage and metalanguage.

In the following excerpt, Wheeler examines the comic patterns of All's Well That Ends Well, claiming that they “radically change the comic spirit of All's Well from that of earlier comedies.”

In the following essay, Bly examines the role the bedtrick plays in defining Helena as an uncommon Renaissance heroine.

In the following essay, Silverman examines the dual nature of the play's structure, demonstrating the way the comedic action of All's Well That Ends Well moves from simple and naïve to a more complex and insidious form.

In the following essay, Huston studies the way Parolles, with his unchanneled youthful energy, draws attention to Shakespeare's development of the idea that the energy of society's youth, in order to be constructive and productive, must be directed into the orderly structure of social institutions.

In the following essay, Bergeron examines the theme of healing in All's Well That Ends Well, focusing on Helena's physical healing of the King and the metaphorical healing of Bertram and Parolles.

In the following essay, Dennis discusses the religious themes of fidelity and divine love in All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Bergeron focuses on All's Well That Ends Well's allusions to the tumultuous affair of the classical gods of love and war, Venus and Mars, and associates these figures respectively with Helena and Bertram.

In the following excerpt, Zitner examines the contemporary social conventions that underscore the action of All's Well That Ends Well.

In the following essay, Hapgood studies Parolles as a representation of shame in All's Well That Ends Well and notes that the character sacrifices honor in favor of unrestrained living.

In the following essay, Bassnett-McGuire suggests that All's Well That Ends Well reflects post-Reformation views of the marriage contract and also comments on the individual's relationship to the state.

In the excerpt below, Westlund examines the character of Helena, particularly in regards to her longing for Bertram, and her sexuality.

In the following essay, Schork claims that All's Well That Ends Well's Parolles is a clever adaptation of several stock types from Roman New Comedy: the cowardly braggart soldier, the crafty servant, and the archetypal pimp.

In the following review, Brustein examines the New York Shakespeare Festival production of All's Well That Ends Well directed by Richard Jones, noting that Jones's tragicomic approach emphasized the play's dark and serious tones.

In the following review, Wolf suggests that director Gregory Doran's 2003 Royal Shakespeare Company production of All's Well That Ends Well at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon was held together by a spectacular Judi Dench in the role of the Countess of Roussillon.

In the following review, Dodsworth discusses Peter Hall's production of All's Well That Ends Well, describing it as deeply powerful and moving.

In the following excerpt, Smallwood examines Irina Brook's production of All's Well That Ends Well, finding that the director failed in her attempt to create a setting in which the play's folklore elements could be explored. Smallwood praises Rachel Pickup's energetic and intelligent portrayal of Helena and Emil Marwa's childlike and naïve Bertram.

In the following review, Lindop offers a rather negative appraisal of Matthew Lloyd's production of All's Well That Ends Well, commenting on the production's lack of emotional warmth and “unwelcoming” set.

In the following review, Gerard assesses the New York Shakespeare Festival production of All's Well That Ends Well directed by Richard Jones. Gerard comments that the production emphasized the play's troubling and ambiguous nature while retaining the play's comic features.

In the following review of director Richard Clifford's 2003 staging of All's Well That Ends Well at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C., Marks finds the production conventional, drab, and lifeless.

In the following review, Carnegy lauds director Gregory Doran's 2003 production of All's Well That Ends Well at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, highlighting outstanding performances by Judi Dench as the Countess of Roussillon and Guy Henry as Parolles.