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The date of composition for All’s Well That Ends Well is uncertain. Our earliest copy of the play appears in the Folio of 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, so other clues must be sought in order to date the work. The most common dating places it between 1601 and 1606, grouping it with Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure in what are typically referred to as Shakespeare’s “problem comedies.” All three share a dark, bitter wit and an unpleasant view of human relations that contrasts sharply with earlier, sunnier comedies like Twelfth Night and As You Like It. The darker sensibility is embodied, this theory argues, in the coarse pragmatism surrounding sexual relations in All’s Well and the obvious difficulty rejoicing in a “happy ending” that unites such an ill-suited couple as Helen and Bertram.
An alternative dating, held by a minority of critics, places the play’s writing in 1598 or earlier, associating it with a “lost play” called Love’s Labour Won, which is listed in a 1598 catalogue of Shakespeare’s plays but has never been seen or mentioned elsewhere. All’s Well That Ends Well, it is argued, matches the title of this work admirably—that is, Helen “labours” to gain her love, and she wins. Supporters of this dating claim that All’s Well That Ends Well is likely an edited or reworked version that Shakespeare published at a later date.
In either case, the source for the story is more obvious: it is derived, more or less directly, from the ninth story of the third day of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, a classic of early Renaissance literature written between 1348 and 1358. The work, and the story in question, were translated into English in the mid-sixteenth century by William Painter as The Palace of Pleasure, and it was this version that Shakespeare probably drew upon. In his typical way, Shakespeare altered and reshaped the original text to create a richer story, adding characters like Lafew, the Countess, and Parolles while keeping essential elements like the bed trick and the war in Florence.
The critical reception of All’s Well That Ends Well has always been mixed. The eminent eighteenth-century writer and critic Samuel Johnson may perhaps be taken as representative in his dissatisfaction with the play: “I cannot reconcile my heart to Bertram, a man noble without generosity, and young without truth, who marries Helena as a coward and leaves her as a profligate; when she is dead by his unkindness, sneaks home to a second marriage, is accused by a woman he has wronged, defends himself by falsehood, and is dismissed to happiness.” Generations of audiences have shared Johnson’s displeasure with Bertram and Helen’s unwavering pursuit of him. Although the play’s reputation has revived somewhat in recent years, it remains unpopular and rarely performed.
