Under Development
Scholars generally agree that All's Well That Ends Well was written between 1600 and 1605, although some believe that the play is the lost Shakespearean drama titled Love's Labour's Won, which was written before 1598.
All's Well That Ends Well has often been called one of Shakespeare's 'problem plays', a category of his work that usually includes Measure For Measure and Troilus And Cressida, because these works often seem more similar in tone and theme to the tragedies Shakespeare was writing during the same time period than they do to the romantic comedies he wrote in the 1590s.
The main characters, Helena and Bertram, have generated a great deal of literary criticism and comment as well. Some critics brand Helena as conniving and obsessive in her love for Bertram, while others find her wholly virtuous and noble. In general, critics are united in their displeasure with the character of Bertram, though some judge him more harshly than others. Some critics find Bertram thoroughly unrepentant and unredeemable at the end of the play, making the ending implausible. Others are more sympathetic toward him, finding him merely immature at the beginning of the play and in need of life experience in order for him to grow up.