Chronology of Shakespeare plays
The Chronology of Shakespeare plays is a controversial topic, as many of the plays were preformed many years before they were generally published. Indeed many of Shakespeare's works remained unpublished until the First Folio (1623).Here are the plays in the generally accepted orders although all dates should be taken as approximate. Dates in brackets indicate the date of first publication.
- 1590 (1598) Henry VI, Part I
- Stationers' Register on 25 February 1598.
- 1590 (1594) Henry VI, Part II
- 1590 (1595) Henry VI, Part III
- Parodied by Robert Greene in 1592.
- 1592 (1602) Richard III
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1592 (1623) Comedy of Errors
- If this is the same as the play entitled 'The Night of Errors', it was performed on 28 December 1594. Probably the "errors" in Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1593 (1594) Titus Andronicus
- According to the first published edition it was performed by a company that folded in early 1593. In 1594 Philip Henslowe refered to it as a "new" play. In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1593 (1623) Taming of the Shrew
- 1594 (1623) Two Gentlemen of Verona
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays. The work may have been based on Bartholomew Yong's translation of Montemayor's Diana, which was done in 1583 but not published until 1598.
- 1594 (1598) Love's Labour's Lost
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1594 (1597) Romeo and Juliet
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1595 (1597) Richard II
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1595 (1600) A Midsummer Night's Dream
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1596 (1622) King John
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1596 (1600) The Merchant of Venice
- Recorded at Stationers' Register on 22 July 1598. In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1597 Henry IV, Part I
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1597 (1600) Henry IV, Part II
- 1598 (1600) Much Ado About Nothing
- 1598 Henry V
- 1599 (1623) Julius Caesar
- Mentioned by Thomas Platter in 1599.
- 1599 (1623) As You Like It
- Stationers' Register on 4 August 1600
- 1599 (1623) Twelfth Night
- 1600 (1603) Hamlet
- Sationers' Register in 1602.
- 1600 (1602) The Merry Wives of Windsor
- 1601 (1609) Troilus and Cressida
- 1602 (1623) All's Well That Ends Well
- 1604 (1623) Measure for Measure
- 1604 (1622) Othello
- 1605 (1608) King Lear
- 1605 (1623) Macbeth
- 1606 (1623) Antony and Cleopatra
- 1607 (1623) Coriolanus
- 1607 (1623) Timon of Athens
- 1608 (1609) Pericles Prince of Tyre
- 1609 (1623) Cymbeline
- 1610 (1623) The Winter's Tale
- 1611 (1623) The Tempest
- 1612 (1623) Henry VIII
- Was performed on 29 June 1613, when the Globe Theatre burnt down.
- Was performed on 29 June 1613, when the Globe Theatre burnt down.
- 1600 (1600) The History of Sir John Oldcastle
- 1604 (1605) The London prodigall
- 1605 (1608) A Yorkshire Tragedy
- 1612 (1634) The Two Noble Kinsmen
