This article presents a possible chronological listing of the composition of the plays of William Shakespeare. Shakespearean scholars, beginning with Edmond Malone in 1778, have attempted to reconstruct the relative chronology of Shakespeare's oeuvre by various means, using external evidence (such as references to the plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries in both critical material and private documents, allusions in other plays, entries in the Stationers' Register, and records of performance and publication), and internal evidence (allusions within the plays to contemporary events, composition and publication dates of sources used by Shakespeare, stylistic analysis looking at the development of his style and diction over time, and the plays' context in the contemporary theatrical and literary milieu). Most modern chronologies are based on the work of E. K. Chambers in "The Problem of Chronology" (1930), published in Volume 1 of his book William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems.

Introduction

Since the surviving evidence is fragmentary, there is not, nor can there be a definitive or precise chronology. Performance history is often of limited use, as the first recorded performances of many plays were not necessarily when the plays were first performed. For example, the first recorded performance of Romeo and Juliet was not until 1662, yet it is known the play was performed in Shakespeare's lifetime. At best, the performance history of a play establishes only the terminus ante quem of its composition. Similarly, dates of first publication are often relatively useless in determining a chronology, as roughly half the plays were not published until seven years after Shakespeare's death, in the First Folio (1623), prepared by John Heminges and Henry Condell, and published by Edward Blount, William Jaggard and Isaac Jaggard. Performance dates and publication dates are also problematic insofar as many of the plays were performed several years before they were published. For example, Titus Andronicus was performed in 1592, but not published until 1594; Othello was performed in 1604, but not published until 1622; and King Lear was performed in 1606, but not published until 1608. Performance and publication dates can thus be used only to determine terminal dates of composition, with the initial dates often remaining much more speculative. In addition, some scholars dissent from the conventional dating system altogether. A notable scholar who does so is E. A. J. Honigmann, who has attempted to push back the beginning of Shakespeare's career by four or five years, to the mid-1580s, with his "early start" theory. Honigmann argues that Shakespeare began his career with Titus Andronicus in 1586, though the conventional dating is that Shakespeare began writing plays after arriving in London in about 1590. Most scholars, however, adhere to a more orthodox chronology, and some, such as Gary Taylor and Sidney Thomas, argue that the early start theory causes more problems than it solves.

Scholarship

E. K. Chambers

The chronology presented by E. K. Chambers in 1930 is as follows:

Modern Complete Works

There are six major modern scholarly editions of the Complete Works of Shakespeare: Additionally, as with Oxford, Arden, Pelican and the RSC, the New Cambridge Shakespeare, the New Penguin Shakespeare, the Signet Classic Shakespeare, the Dover Wilson Shakespeare, the Shakespeare Folios and the Folger Shakespeare Library all publish scholarly editions of individual plays, although none has issued a complete works. The Arden Shakespeare presents the plays in alphabetical order of their titles, without any attempt to construct an overall chronology. The Oxford, Riverside, Norton and RSC collections each rely on chronologies that differ from one another and attempt only approximate dating. The following list is based on The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (2nd ed.) and the accompanying William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion (Revised ed.), edited by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor.

Chronology

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1587–1591)

The Taming of the Shrew (1591–1592)

Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592)

Henry VI, Part 2 (1591-1592)

Henry VI, Part 3 (1591-1592)

Titus Andronicus (1591–1592)

Richard III (1592–1593)

Edward III (1592–1593)

The Comedy of Errors (1594)

Love's Labour's Lost (1594–1597)

Love's Labour's Won (1595–1598)

Richard II (1595)

Romeo and Juliet (1595)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)

King John (1596)

The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597)

Henry IV, Part 1 (1596–1597)

The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597)

Henry IV, Part 2 (1597–1598)

Much Ado About Nothing (1598–1599)

Henry V (1599)

Julius Caesar (1599)

As You Like It (1599–1600)

Hamlet (1599–1601)

Twelfth Night (1601)

Troilus and Cressida (1600–1602)

Sir Thomas More (1592–1595; Shakespeare's involvement, 1603–1604)

Measure for Measure (1603–1604)

Othello (1603–1604)

All's Well That Ends Well (1604–1605)

King Lear (1605–1606)

Timon of Athens (1605–1606)

Macbeth (1606)

Antony and Cleopatra (1606)

Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607–1608)

Coriolanus (1608)

The Winter's Tale (1609–1611)

Cymbeline (1610)

The Tempest (1610–1611)

Cardenio (1612–1613)

Henry VIII (1612–1613)

The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613–1614)