The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
This chronology has been compiled to give the
student an idea of the order in which Shakespeare probably wrote his plays,
and where in this order their study text appears. It has based on the work of
Taylor and Wells, who prepared the Oxford edition of the complete works.
There are some small additional notes included
which are either points of interest or have relevance in placing each work at
a point in time.
- Two Gentlemen of Verona, mentioned by Francis Meres
in 1598
- Taming of the Shrew
- Henry VI, part 1, probably written in 1590-1
- Henry VI, part 3, first published in 1595
- Titus Andronicus, according to the first printing,
performed by a company that had folded by the summer of 1593
- Henry VI, part 2, probably the play 'harey the vj'
recorded as performed on 3 March 1592 by Lord Strange's Men
- Richard III, probably first performed in 1592-3
- The Comedy of Errors, probably the play 'The Night
of Errors' performed on 28 December 1594
- Love's Labours Lost, probably written in 1593 or 1594
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, probably written in 1594
or 1595 immediately before or after Romeo and Juliet
- Romeo and Juliet,
probably written in 1594 or 1595
- Richard II, probably written no later than 1595
- King John, probably written in 1595 or 1596
- The Merchant of Venice, listed in the Stationers' Register
on 22 July 1598, probably written a year or two before
- Henry IV, part 1, listed in the Stationers' Register
of 25 February 1598
- The Merry Wives of Windsor, probably performed on the
occasion of the installation of George Carey, Lord Chamberlain and patron
of Shakespeare's comapny, as a Knight of the Garter at Windsor (23 April
1597)
- Henry IV, part 2, probably begun in late 1596 or 1597
- Much Ado About Nothing, the role of Dogberry was probably
written for Will Kemp, who left Shakespeare's company in 1599
- Henry V, probably written in the spring of 1599
- Julius Caesar , a performance is recorded on 21 September
1599
- As You Like It, recorded in the Stationers' Register
on 4 August 1600
- Hamlet, probably written in 1600 and later revised
- Twelfth Night, probably written in 1601
- Troilus and Cressida
- Measure for Measure
- Othello
- All's Well That Ends Well
- Timon of Athens
- The Tragedy of King Lear
- Macbeth
- Anthony and Cleopatra
- Pericles
- Coriolanus
- Winter's Tale
- Cymbeline
- The Tempest
- Henry VIII, the firing of a canon during one of the
first performances of this play, on 29 June 1613, started the fire that
burned the Globe Theatre to the ground
