All’s Well That Ends Well (Bard to the Bone #08)

Year written: any time between 1598 and 1608!!

Plot in a paragraph: Helen wants to marry Bertram, and cures a king to force matters to a head. Bertram flees to the wars, and is then tricked into consummating the marriage with Helen. And they’re all going to live happily ever after?  Probably not…

Things that worked well: Bertram’s mum.

Things that didn’t work well: Er, most of it?

Favourite character: Lucio, I guess

Words I learnt: 

Word	Definition
Plausive	Plausive – manifesting praise or approval
Facinorous	Facinorous- extremely wicked.
Debile	Debile – stupid
Coranto	Coranto – early form of printed news, type of dance
Curvet	Curvet – (of a horse) perform a series of jumps on the hind legs.Noun a graceful or energetic leap.
Hilding	Hilding – contemptible wretch
Embosked	Embosked shrouded or concealed especially with plants or greenery
Mell	Mell- In Shakespearean English, “mell” primarily means to meddle, interfere, or get involved. It can also mean to mingle or mix
Carbonadoed	Carbonadoed – 2. to score and grill (meat, fish, etc)3.  Archaic to hack or slash
Reave	Reave- carry out raids in order to plunder.

Lines worth knowing: 

Act scene lines	Character	Lines	Comment
Act 1, 1, lines 14-17	Lafew	He hath abandoned his physicians, madam, under whose practices he hath persecuted time with hope, and finds no other advantage in the process but only the losing of hope by time.
Act 1, sense 1, 222-25	Helen	Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie Which we ascribe to heaven. The fated sky Gives us free scope, only doth backward pull225 Our slow designs when we ourselves are dull.
Act 2, scene 1	King	We thank you, maiden, But may not be so credulous of cure, When our most learnèd doctors leave us and The congregated college have concluded That laboring art can never ransom nature From her inaidible estate. I say we must not So stain our judgment or corrupt our hope To prostitute our past-cure malady To empirics, or to dissever so Our great self and our credit to esteem A senseless help when help past sense we deem
Act 3, scene 1, line 9-13	First Lord	but to speak of him as my kinsman, he’s a most notable coward,10 an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise-breaker, the owner of no one good quality worthy
Act 4, scene 3		FIRST LORD  Now God delay our rebellion! As we are20 ourselves, what things are we!SECOND LORD  Merely our own traitors. And, as in the common course of all treasons we still see them reveal themselves till they attain to their abhorred ends, so he that in this action contrives against his25 own nobility, in his proper stream o’erflows himself.
Act 4, scene 3	Second Lord	, ⌜aside⌝  I will never trust a man again for155 keeping his sword clean, nor believe he can have everything in him by wearing his apparel neatly.
Act 5, scene 3	Countess	Tis past, my liege, And I beseech your Majesty to make it Natural rebellion done i’ th’ blade of youth, When oil and fire, too strong for reason’s force, O’erbears it and burns on.
Act 5, scene 3	King	All is whole. Not one word more of the consumèd time. Let’s take the instant by the forward top, For we are old, and on our quick’st decrees Th’ inaudible and noiseless foot of time50 Steals ere we can effect them
Act 5, scene 3	King	I am wrapped in dismal thinkings

Marc’s entirely subjective verdict and score out of 5 bards (ymmv): 4 – despite the dodgy ending

Will I be tracking down movies of this? : yes

How far would I travel to see a good production of this? Brum? Manchester?

Limericks

Bertram’s pursued by young Helen

But he’s not buying what she’s selling

He flees to the army

The plot gets so barmy

Despite regal command they’re not gelling

AND

The king’s in a bit of a pickle

And expect not to recover from sick(le)

By Helen he’s fixed

Then Bertram’s transfixed

And their loves not a flood, just a trickle

AND

Helen’s out hunting her Bert

Having cured the king of his hurt

Bertie’s a fleeing

Then finally “agreeing”

Though he prefers a shirt to a skirt?