Chronology of Shakespeare plays - Definition and Overview

The precise chronology of Shakespeare's plays as they were first performed is a controversial topic, as many of the plays were performed many years before they were published. Pirated editions are the first printed version of several plays, but many of Shakespeare's works remained unpublished until the First Folio (1623). There is no play mentioned as Shakespeare's by his contemporaries that we do not have, except Cardenio and Love's Labours Won. Shakespeare's role in writing several existing plays is debated, however.

For Francis Meres' list of Shakespeare's plays made in 1598, see the entry Francis Meres.

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 referred 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.

• 1598 (1600) Henry IV, Part II
• 1599 Henry V

  Chorus expresses hope for the Irish expedition of 1599.

• 1599 (1623) Julius Caesar

  Mentioned by Thomas Platter in 1599.

• 1599 (1600) Much Ado About Nothing
• 1599 (1623) As You Like It

  Stationers' Register in August 1600

• 1597-1600 (1602) The Merry Wives of Windsor
• 1601 (1603) Hamlet

  Stationers' Register in July 1602 describes it as “lately acted”.

• 1602 (1623) Twelfth Night
• 1602 (1609) Troilus and Cressida

  Stationers' Register in February 1603.

• 1603 (1623) All's Well That Ends Well

  No contemporary reference.

• 1604 (1623) Measure for Measure

  Court records show it was performed December 1604.

• 1604 (1622) Othello

  Performed November 1604.

• 1605 (1608) King Lear

  Stationers' Register in November 1607.

• 1605 (1623) Macbeth
• 1606 (1623) Antony and Cleopatra

  Stationers' Register in May 1608.

• 1607 (1623) Coriolanus
• 1607 (1623) Timon of Athens
• 1608 (1609) Pericles Prince of Tyre

  Stationers' Register in May 1608.

• 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.

• 1612 (1634) The Two Noble Kinsmen

The following plays are of uncertain authorship but have been attributed to Shakespeare:

• 1600 (1600) The History of Sir John Oldcastle
• 1604 (1605) The London prodigall
• 1605 (1608) A Yorkshire Tragedy

External links

• http://shakespeareauthorship.com/howdowe.html#1
• http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/meres.htm
• http://www.dlhoffman.com/publiclibrary/Shakespeare/by-year.html
• http://www.shakespeare-online.com/keydates/playchron.html
• http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/reference/plays1588-1595.html