E. M. W. Tillyard, W. W. Lawrence, Hazelton Spencer, and Michael Shapiro all find Bertram a thoroughly reformed character at the end of the play. Tillyard and Lawrence find it completely plausible that Bertram has grown from an immature, inexperienced man at the beginning of the play into a sincere hero. Spencer argues that the "play's title clinches the argument against the play's detractors." Shapiro concludes that Bertram's reluctance to marry Helena is entirely credible. The King orders him to marry Helena when the last thing he wants is to be tied down in marriage. What he desires is the "masculine" form of honor earned on a battlefield.

Larry S. Champion's assessment of Bertram is generally a positive one. If Helena finds him worth pursuing, Champion argues, there must be something worthy in his character. (Gerard J. Gross agrees.) His association with Parolles, his treatment of Helena...