Establishing the chronology of Shakespeare's plays is a most frustrating and difficult task. It is impossible to know the exact order of succession because there is no record of the first production date of any of Shakespeare's works. However, scholars have decided upon a specific play chronology, based upon the following sources of information: 1) several historical events and allusions to those events in the plays; 2) the records of performances of the plays -- taken from such places as Henslowe's diary and the diaries of other Shakespeare contemporaries like John Manningham (a student at the Inns of Court), and Thomas Platter (a Swiss businessman); 3) the publication dates of sources; 4) the dates that the plays appear in print (remembering that the production of a play immediately followed the completion of that play in the Elizabethan age).
Despite the fact that we have an accepted play chronology, we must keep in mind that the dating is conjectural, and there are many who disagree with the order of plays listed below.
First Performed
Plays
First Printed
1590-91
Henry VI, Part II
1594?
1590-91
Henry VI, Part III
1594?
1591-92
Henry VI, Part I
1623
1592-93
Richard III
1597
1592-93
Comedy of Errors
1623
1593-94
Titus Andronicus
1594
1593-94
Taming of the Shrew
1623
1594-95
Two Gentlemen of Verona
1623
1594-95
Love's Labour's Lost
1598?
1594-95
Romeo and Juliet
1597
1595-96
Richard II
1597
1595-96
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1600
1596-97
King John
1623
1596-97
The Merchant of Venice
1600
1597-98
Henry IV, Part I
1598
1597-98
Henry IV, Part II
1600
1598-99
Much Ado About Nothing
1600
1598-99
Henry V
1600
1599-1600
Julius Caesar
1623
1599-1600
As You Like It
1623
1599-1600
Twelfth Night
1623
1600-01
Hamlet
1603
1600-01
The Merry Wives of Windsor
1602
1601-02
Troilus and Cressida
1609
1602-03
All's Well That Ends Well
1623
1604-05
Measure for Measure
1623
1604-05
Othello
1622
1605-06
King Lear
1608
1605-06
Macbeth
1623
1606-07
Antony and Cleopatra
1623
1607-08
Coriolanus
1623
1607-08
Timon of Athens
1623
1608-09
Pericles
1609
1609-10
Cymbeline
1623
1610-11
The Winter's Tale
1623
1611-12
The Tempest
1623
1612-13
Henry VIII
1623
1612-13
The Two Noble Kinsmen*
1634
*The Two Noble Kinsmen is listed as one of Shakespeare's plays although it must be noted that all but a few scholars believe it not to be an original work by Shakespeare. The majority of the play was probably written by John Fletcher, who was a prominent actor and Shakespeare's close friend. Fletcher succeeded Shakespeare as foremost dramatist for the King's Men (the successor to the Chamberlain's Men).
How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. The Chronology of Shakespeare's Plays. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/keydates/playchron.html >.
