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SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
Shakespeare's Plays (arranged by approximate date of composition)
PlayApproximate date of compositionDate of first publicationSourcesMajor charactersGenre
Henry VI, Part II15901594Edward Hall, Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1548); Raphael Holinshed, Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587)King Henry VI Queen Margaret Richard Plantagenet, Duke of YorkHistory
Henry VI, Part III15901595Hall; HolinshedKing Henry VI Queen Margaret Edward, Prince of Wales Richard, Duke of Gloucester Richard Nevil, Earl of WarwickHistory
Henry VI, Part I15901623Hall; HolinshedKing Henry VI Lord Talbot Joan of Arc Richard Plantagenet, Duke of YorkHistory
Richard III15921597Hall; Holinshed; Sir Thomas More, History of Richard IIIKing Richard III Queen Elizabeth Duke of Buckingham Lady Anne George, Duke of ClarenceHistory
The Comedy of Errors15921623Plautus, Menaechmi and AmphituoAntipholus of Syracuse Antipholus of Ephesus Dromio of Syracuse Dromio of EphesusComedy
Titus Andronicus (may have been written in collaboration with George Peele)15931594History of Titus Andronicus (chapbook); John Gower, Appolonius of TyreTitus of Andronicus Tamora Aaron the MoorTragedy
The Taming of the Shrew15931623George Gascoigne, Supposes (1566); Earlier play The Taming of a ShawPetruchio KatherineComedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona15941623Jorge de Montemayor, Diana (1559?)Valentine Proteus Julius SilviaComedy
Love's Labour's Lost15941598Specific source not establishedKing of Navarre Princess of France Holofernes Don Adriano de ArmadoComedy
Romeo and Juliet15941597Arthur Brooke, The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562); Matteo Bandello, Novelle (tr. by William Painter in Palace of Pleasure, 1566–67)Romeo Juliet Mercutio Tybalt Friar Laurence NurseTragedy
Richard II15951597Holinshed, Chronicles (1587)King Richard II Henry Bolingbroke Edmund of Langley, Duke of YorkHistory
A Midsummer Night's Dream15951600Specific source not establishedHermia Lysander Theseus Helena Demetrius Oberon Titania Puck BottomComedy
King John15961623Anon. play, The Troublesome Raigne of King John (1591)King John Philip the Bastard Arthur, Duke of Britain ConstanceHistory
The Merchant of Venice15961600Giovanni Fiorentino, Il Pecarone (1558)Bassanio Shylock Antonio PortiaComedy
Henry IV, Part I15971598Holinshed, Chronicles (1587)King Henry IV Falstaff Henry, Prince of Wales (Prince Hal) Henry Percy ("Hotspur")History
Henry IV, Part II15971600HolinshedKing Henry IV Falstaff Henry, Prince of WalesHistory
Much Ado about Nothing15981600Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516)Prince of Arragon Beatrice Benedick Claudio HeroComedy
Henry V15981600Holinshed, Chronicles (1587)King Henry V Archbishop of Canterbury Fluellen PistolHistory
Julius Caesar15991623Plutarch, Lives (tr. by Sir Thomas North, 1579)Brutus Cassius Marc Antony CaesarTragedy
As You Like It15991623Thomas Lodge, Rosalynde (1590)Rosalind Orlando TouchstoneComedy
Twelfth Night15991623Barnabe Riche, Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession (1581)Sir Toby Belch Viola Sebastian Duke Orsino OliviaComedy
Hamlet16001603François de Belleforest, Histoires Tragiques (1576)Hamlet Horatio Ophelia Laertes Claudius Polonius GertrudeTragedy
The Merry Wives of Windsor16001602Specific source not establishedFalstaff Mrs. Page Mr. FordComedy
Troilus and Cressida16011609Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde (c.1386); William Caxton, Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1474)Troilus Ulysses Pandarus CressidaComedy
All's Well That Ends Well16021623William Painter, Palace of Pleasure (1566–67)Bertram Helena Parolles King of FranceComedy
Measure for Measure16041623George Whetstone, Promos and Cassandra (1578)Vincentio Angelo Isabella Claudio MarianaComedy
Othello16041622Giovanni Battista Giraldi ("Cinthio"), Ecatommiti (1565)Othello Desdemona Iago CassioTragedy
King Lear16051608Holinshed, Chronicles (1587); Anon., The True Chronicle History of King Leir (before 1594)King Lear Cordelia Earl of Gloucester Edgar Earl of Kent Edmund Goneril Regan Duke of Albany Lear's FoolTragedy
Macbeth16051623HolinshedDuncan Macbeth Lady Macbeth Malcolm MacduffTragedy
Antony and Cleopatra16061623Plutarch, Lives (tr. 1579)Mark Antony Cleopatra Octavius CaesarTragedy
Coriolanus16071623PlutarchCoriolanus Tullus Aufidius Caius Marcius Menenius Agrippa VolumniaTragedy
Timon of Athens (may have been written in collaboration with Thomas Middleton)16071623Plutarch; Lucian, Misanthropos (2d cent. a.d.)Timon of Athens Apemantus Alcibiades FlaviusTragedy
Pericles (may have been written in collaboration with George Wilkins)16081609John Gower, Confessio Amantis (c.1390)Pericles Thaisa Marina Simonides LysimachusTragicomedy
Cymbeline16091623Holinshed, Chronicles (1587); Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron (1348–53)Cymbeline Imogen Posthumus IachimoTragicomedy
The Winter's Tale16101623Robert Greene, Pandosto (1588)Leontes Hermione Paulina Autolycus Perdita Florizel PolixenesTragicomedy
The Tempest16111623Specific source not establishedProspero Miranda Ferdinand Ariel CalibanTragicomedy
Henry VIII (probably written in collaboration with John Fletcher)16121623Holinshed, Chronicles (1587); John Foxe, Book of Martyrs (1563)King Henry VIII Queen Katherine Cardinal Wolsey Duke of Buckingham Anne BoleynHistory
Two Noble Kinsmen (of doubtful authorship; may have been written in collaboration with John Fletcher)16121634Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale" in Canterbury Tales (c.1387)Palamon ArciteComedy
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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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Publication Information: Encyclopedia Article Title: Shakespeare's Plays. Encyclopedia Title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Publisher: Columbia University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2004.
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