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:
Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592) Henry VI, Part 2 (1591–1592) Henry VI, Part 3 (1591–1592) Richard III (1592–1593) The Comedy of Errors (1592–1593) Titus Andronicus (1593–1594) The Taming of the Shrew (1593–1594) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594–1595) Love's Labour's Lost (1594–1595) Romeo and Juliet (1594–1595) Richard II (1595–1596) A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595–1596) King John (1596–1597) The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597) Henry IV, Part 1 (1597–1598) Henry IV, Part 2 (1597–1598) Much Ado About Nothing (1598–1599) Henry V (1598–1599) Julius Caesar (1599–1600) As You Like It (1599–1600) Twelfth Night (1599–1600) Hamlet (1600–1601) The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600–1601) Troilus and Cressida (1601–1602) All's Well That Ends Well (1602–1603) Measure for Measure (1604–1605) Othello (1604–1605) King Lear (1605–1606) Macbeth (1605–1606) Antony and Cleopatra (1606–1607) Coriolanus (1607–1608) Timon of Athens (1607–1608) Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608–1609) Cymbeline (1609–1610) The Winter's Tale (1610–1611) The Tempest (1611–1612) Henry VIII (1612–1613) The Two Noble Kinsmen (1612–1613)
Modern Complete Works There are six major modern scholarly editions of the Complete Works of Shakespeare: The Riverside Shakespeare (edited by G. Blakemore Evans in 1974, with a second edition in 1996) The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (edited by Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett and William Montgomery in 1986, with a second edition in 2005) The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition (edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard and Katharine Eisaman Maus in 1997, with a second edition in 2008 and a third in 2015) The Arden Shakespeare: Complete Works (edited by Richard Proudfoot, Ann Thompson and David Scott Kastan in 1998, with a second edition in 2002 and a third in 2011) The Complete Pelican Shakespeare (edited by Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller in 2002) The RSC Shakespeare: Complete Works (edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen in 2007).
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)
First official record: in Francis Meres's Palladis Tamia (1598), referred to as "Gentlemen of Verona." First published: First Folio (1623). First recorded performance: an adaptation by Benjamin Victor was performed at Drury Lane in 1762. The earliest known performance of the straight Shakespearean text was at Covent Garden on 15 April 1784, although because of the reference to the play in Palladis Tamia, we know it was definitely performed in Shakespeare's lifetime. Evidence: Stanley Wells argues that the play's "dramatic structure is comparatively unambitious, and while some of its scenes are expertly constructed, those involving more than, at the most, four characters betray an uncertainty of technique suggestive of inexperience." The play is therefore considered one of the first Shakespeare composed after his arrival in London c.1590, at which point he would have lacked theatrical experience. Furthermore, the discussion between Launce and Speed regarding the vices and virtues of Launce's mistress (3.1.276–359For each play, line references, and occasionally even scene numbers and divisions, can differ substantially from edition to edition. To maintain a degree of continuity, all line references throughout this article are to the individual Oxford Shakespeare editions, unless otherwise noted.) seems to borrow from John Lyly's Midas, which was written in late 1588 and/or early 1589, thus fixing a terminus post quem for the play. This situates the date of composition as somewhere between 1589 and 1591, by which time it is known Shakespeare was working on the Henry VI plays. In his 2008 edition of the play for the Oxford Shakespeare, Roger Warren, following E. A. J. Honigmann, suggests Shakespeare may have written the play before he arrived in London, possibly as early as 1587, although he acknowledges this theory is purely speculative.
The Taming of the Shrew (1591–1592)
First official record: possible version of the play entered into Stationers' Register by Peter Short on 2 May 1594 as "a booke intituled A plesant Conceyted historie called the Tayminge of a Shrowe." The first record of the play as it exists today is found in the First Folio (1623). First published: possible version of the play published in quarto in 1594 as A Pleasant Conceited Historie, called The taming of a Shrew (printed by Peter Short for Cuthbert Burby). This text was republished in 1596 (again by Short for Burby) and 1607 (by Valentine Simmes for Nicholas Ling). The play as it exists today was first published in the First Folio as The Taming of the Shrew. Additional information (publication): there is a general lack of scholarly agreement regarding the exact relationship between the 1594 A Shrew and the 1623 The Shrew. Originally, A Shrew was seen as a non-Shakespearean source for The Shrew, meaning The Shrew must have been completed sometime after 2 May 1594. This remained the predominant theory until 1850, when Samuel Hickson suggested that A Shrew was in some way derived from The Shrew. Peter Alexander developed Hickson's work into his reported text/bad quarto theory, which necessitates that The Shrew must have been written prior to 2 May 1594. However, there are other theories about the relationship between the texts. In 1942, R. A. Houk posited the "Ur-Shrew theory (in analogy with the "Ur-Hamlet theory), suggesting that the plays are two completely unrelated texts by different authors based on the same (now lost) source. In 1943, G. I. Duthie refined this theory, suggesting that A Shrew was a reported text of an early draft of The Shrew. In his 1998 edition of A Shrew for the New Cambridge Shakespeare: The Early Quartos series, Stephen Roy Miller suggested A Shrew was an adaptation of The Shrew written by someone other than Shakespeare. Critics remain divided on this issue. First recorded performance: according to Philip Henslowe's diary, a play called The Tamynge of A Shrowe was performed at Newington Butts on 11 June 1594. This could have been either the 1594 A Shrew or the Shakespearean The Shrew, but as the Admiral's Men and the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's own company, were sharing the theatre at the time, and, thus, Shakespeare himself was probably there, scholars tend to assume that it was The Shrew. The Shakespearean version was definitely performed at court before Charles I and Henrietta Maria on 26 November 1633, where it was described as "likt." Evidence: a terminus ante quem for A Shrew would seem to be August 1592; a stage direction at 3.21 mentions "Simon," which probably refers to the actor Simon Jewell, who was buried on 21 August 1592. The Shrew must have been written earlier than 1593, as Anthony Chute's Beauty Dishonoured, written under the title of Shore's wife (published in June 1593) contains the line "He calls his Kate, and she must come and kiss him." This must refer to The Shrew, as there is no corresponding "kissing scene" in A Shrew. There are also verbal similarities between both Shrew plays and the anonymous play A Knack to Know a Knave (first performed in June 1592). Knack features several passages common to both A Shrew and The Shrew, but it also borrows several passages unique to The Shrew. This suggests The Shrew was on stage before June 1592. However, Kier Elam further narrows the terminal date of The Shrew to 1591, based on Shakespeare's probable use of two sources published that year: Abraham Ortelius's map of Italy in the fourth edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and John Florio's Second Fruits. As neither Shrew play is likely to have been written any earlier than 1590, this places the likely date of composition of The Shrew as 1590–1591, with A Shrew written sometime prior to August 1592.
Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592)