First published within Shakespeare's «First Folio» of 1623, «All's Well That Ends Well», rides a fascinating dramatic line between the comedy and the tragedy. The play tells the story of Helena, a penniless worker at the Palace of Rousillion, and her cunning adventures to wed Bertram, the prosperous son of Rousillion. When Helena rids the King of France of a peculiar illness, she is rewarded the hand of Bertram. Faced with hesitancy from Bertram, she devises a most devious plan to birth his son and keep his ring. Based on Baccacio's, «The Decameron», the play energizes a classic theme of love conflicted by class. Full of the expected wit and ardor of Shakespeare, «All's Well That Ends Well» defies typical genre classification, remaining an anomaly among the Shakespearean canon.
