What does SHAKESPEAREAN PROBLEM PLAY stand for? 

Shakespearean problem play

In Shakespeare studies, the term problem plays primarily refers to three plays that William Shakespeare wrote between the late 1590s and the first years of the seventeenth century: All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida. Shakespeare's problem plays are characterised by their complex and ambiguous tone, which shifts violently between dark, psychological drama and more straightforward comic material. The term was coined by critic F. S. Boas in Shakespeare and his Predecessors, deriving from a type of drama that was popular at the time of Boas' writing. It was most associated with the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In these problem plays the situation faced by the protagonist is put forward by the author as a representative instance of a contemporary social problem. The term can refer to the subject matter of the play, or to a classification "problem" with the plays themselves. Some critics include other plays, most commonly The Winter's Tale, Timon of Athens, and The Merchant of Venice.

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