Order of William Shakespeare Books
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet and playwright who many consider to be the greatest writer of the English language. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon and married Anne Hathaway (not that one), having three children with her (including two twins). He was respected for his work in his own time, but it wasn’t until the 19th century when he became a legend. To this day, his works are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted.
William Shakespeare’s first known work is The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which dates back to 1589 and was published for the first time in 1623. Previous to that, he had written Love’s Labour’s Won, a lost play that predates 1589. His work is broken down into the categories Comedies, Poems, Histories, Tragedies and Apocrypha. Below is a list of William Shakespeare’s plays in order of when they were first officially recorded:
Publication Order of Comedy Plays
| The Tempest | (1593) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | (1594) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | (1594) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Measure for Measure | (1594) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Comedy of Errors | (1594) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Much Ado About Nothing | (1595) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Love's Labour's Lost | (1595) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | (1595) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Merchant of Venice | (1598) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| As You Like It | (1599) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Taming of the Shrew | (1599) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| All's Well That Ends Well | (1604) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Twelfth Night | (1605) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Winter's Tale | (1605) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Pericles | (1606) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Two Noble Kinsmen | (1634) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Order of plays is based on the First Folio. | ||
Publication Order of History Plays
| King John | (1590) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Richard II | (1590) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry IV, Part I | (1590) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | (1590) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry V | (1591) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry VI, Part 1 | (1596) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry VI, Part 2 | (1597) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry VI, Part 3 | (1597) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Richard III | (1597) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Henry VIII | (1597) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Edward III | (1598) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Tragedy Plays
| Troilus and Cressida | (1592) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Coriolanus | (1593) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Titus Andronicus | (1594) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Romeo and Juliet | (1595) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Timon of Athens | (1596) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Julius Caesar | (1599) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Macbeth | (1600) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hamlet | (1603) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| King Lear | (1605) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Othello | (1605) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Antony and Cleopatra | (1606) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Cymbeline | (1610) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Collections
| The Prince's Choice | (1995) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare | (1998) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare | (2000) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Anthologies
Note: Cardenio was co-written by John Fletcher.
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