All's Well That Ends Well
- All's Well That Ends Well
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a comedy (1602?) by Shakespeare.
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▪ work by Shakespeare
comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare (
Shakespeare, William), written in 1601–05 and published in the
First Folio of 1623 seemingly from a theatrical playbook that still retained certain authorial features or from a literary transcript either of the playbook or of an authorial manuscript. The principal source of the plot was a tale in Giovanni Boccaccio (
Boccaccio, Giovanni)'s
Decameron.
The play concerns the efforts of Helena, daughter of a renowned physician to the recently deceased count of Rossillion, to win as her husband the young new count, Bertram. When Bertram leaves Rossillion to become a courtier, Helena follows after, hoping to minister to the gravely ill king of France with a miraculous cure that her father had bequeathed to her. In return for her success in doing so, the king invites her to select a husband, her choice being Bertram. The young man, unwilling to marry so far below himself in social station, accedes to the royal imperative but promptly flees to military action in Tuscany with his vapid but engaging friend Parolles. By letter Bertram informs Helena that he may not be considered her husband until she has taken the ring from his finger and conceived a child by him. Disguised as a pilgrim, Helena follows Bertram to Florence only to discover that he has been courting Diana, the daughter of her hostess. Helena spreads a rumour of her own death and arranges a nighttime rendezvous with Bertram in which she substitutes herself for Diana. In exchange for his ring, she gives him one that the king has given her. When Bertram returns to Rossillion, where the king is visiting the countess, the royal guest recognizes the ring and suspects foul play. Helena then appears to explain her machinations and claim her rightful spouse.
For a discussion of this play within the context of Shakespeare's entire corpus,
see William Shakespeare: Shakespeare's plays and poems (
Shakespeare, William).
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Universalium.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
All's Well that Ends Well — a humorous play by William Shakespeare about the relationship between the two main characters, Helena and Bertram. People sometimes use the expression All s Well that Ends Well to say that a difficult situation has ended with a good result … Dictionary of contemporary English
All Is Well — may refer to:* All Is Well (Chicago song), a 1972 song by Chicago * All Is Well (Clay Aiken), a 2006 EP by Clay Aiken * All is Well (film), a 1955 film starring Toshirō Mifune * All is Well (Latter Day Saint hymn), an 1846 song by William Clayton … Wikipedia
all's well that ends well — If the end result is good, then everything is good … The small dictionary of idiomes
all’s well that ends well — Cf. c 1250 Proverbs of Hending in Anglia (1881) IV. 182 Wel is him that wel ende mai. 1381 in J. R. Lumby Chronicon Henrici Knighton (1895) II. 139 If the ende be wele, than is alle wele. c 1530 R. HILL Commonplace Book (EETS) 110 ‘All ys well… … Proverbs new dictionary
All's Well, Ends Well — Infobox Film name = All s Well, Ends Well image size = caption = director = Clifton Ko producer = writer = Raymond Wong narrator = starring = Stephen Chow Maggie Cheung music = cinematography = editing = distributor = released = flagicon|Hong… … Wikipedia
All's Well That Ends Well (album) — Infobox Album | Name = All s Well That Ends Well Type = Album Artist = Chiodos Released = July 26, 2005 (reissued October 17, 2006) Recorded = February 2005 at Audiolux Studios, Elmore, Ohio Genre = Post Hardcore Length = 42:15 (reissue 53:03)… … Wikipedia
All's Well That Ends Well — a comedy (1602?) by Shakespeare. * * * all’s well that ends well spoken phrase used for saying that a situation that did not start in a good way has ended in a way that is satisfactory or pleasing It was a difficult time, but all’s well that ends … Useful english dictionary
All's Well That Ends Well — in 1623. ourcesThe play is based on a tale (3.9) of Boccacio s Decameron. Shakespeare may have read an English translation of the tale in William Painter s Palace of Pleasure . [ F. E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564 ndash;1964, Baltimore … Wikipedia
All's Well, Ends Well 1997 — Infobox Film name = All s Well, Ends Well 1997 image size = caption = director = Alfred Cheung producer = writer = Raymond Wong narrator = starring = Stephen Chow Raymond Wong Francis Ng Roy Chiao Christine Ng Wu Chien lien Christy Chung music =… … Wikipedia
all's well that ends well — Meaning Origin From Shakespeare s play All s Well That Ends Well. Used not only as the title of the play, the line appears in the text too. HELENA: Yet, I pray you: But with the word the time will bring on summer, When briers shall have leaves as … Meaning and origin of phrases
all's well that ends well — spoken used for saying that a situation that did not start in a good way has ended in a way that is satisfactory or pleasing It was a difficult time, but all s well that ends well … English dictionary
