SOURCE: "Happy Ever After: Some Aspects of Marriage in Shakespeare's Plays," in Contemporary Review, Vol. 227, No. 1319, December, 1975, pp. 324-28.

In the following essay, Pendlebury examines the development of Shakespeare's treatment of marriage in his plays, noting that in the early comedies, the prospect of marriage is of primary significance and is represented in an optimistic manner, whereas in the later plays, Shakespeare's tone regarding marriage shifts to a more pessimistic one.

Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage! So says Feste in Twelfth Night. Now, clearly we must not attribute to Shakespeare himself the view expressed in a flippant remark by a professional jester. Indeed, we cannot safely assume that Shakespeare personally endorsed the judgments of any one of his characters. However carefully we scrutinise particular plays, we can never say with confidence: 'This is what Shakespeare thought about marriage'. Nevertheless, it is interesting to examine those...