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Shakespeare's Plays ( (table))
Shakespeare's Plays
| Shakespeare's Plays (arranged by approximate date of composition) | |||||||||
| Play | Approximate date of composition | Date of first publication | Sources | Major characters | Genre | ||||
| Henry VI, Part II | 1590 | 1594 | Edward 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 York | History | ||||
| Henry VI, Part III | 1590 | 1595 | Hall; Holinshed | King Henry VI Queen Margaret Edward, Prince of Wales Richard, Duke of Gloucester Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick | History | ||||
| Henry VI, Part I | 1590 | 1623 | Hall; Holinshed | King Henry VI Lord Talbot Joan of Arc Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York | History | ||||
| Richard III | 1592 | 1597 | Hall; Holinshed; Sir Thomas More, History of Richard III | King Richard III Queen Elizabeth Duke of Buckingham Lady Anne George, Duke of Clarence | History | ||||
| The Comedy of Errors | 1592 | 1623 | Plautus, Menaechmi and Amphituo | Antipholus of Syracuse Antipholus of Ephesus Dromio of Syracuse Dromio of Ephesus | Comedy | ||||
| Titus Andronicus(may have been written in collaboration with George Peele) | 1593 | 1594 | History of Titus Andronicus (chapbook); John Gower, Appolonius of Tyre | Titus of Andronicus Tamora Aaron the Moor | Tragedy | ||||
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1593 | 1623 | George Gascoigne, Supposes (1566); Earlier play The Taming of a Shaw | Petruchio Katherine | Comedy | ||||
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | 1594 | 1623 | Jorge de Montemayor, Diana (1559?) | Valentine Proteus Julius Silvia | Comedy | ||||
| Love's Labour's Lost | 1594 | 1598 | Specific source not established | King of Navarre Princess of France Holofernes Don Adriano de Armado | Comedy | ||||
| Romeo and Juliet | 1594 | 1597 | Arthur 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 Nurse | Tragedy | ||||
| Richard II | 1595 | 1597 | Holinshed, Chronicles (1587) | King Richard II Henry Bolingbroke Edmund of Langley, Duke of York | History | ||||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1595 | 1600 | Specific source not established | Hermia Lysander Theseus Helena Demetrius Oberon Titania Puck Bottom | Comedy | ||||
| King John | 1596 | 1623 | Anon. play, The Troublesome Raigne of King John (1591) | King John Philip the Bastard Arthur, Duke of Britain Constance | History | ||||
| The Merchant of Venice | 1596 | 1600 | Giovanni Fiorentino, Il Pecarone (1558) | Bassanio Shylock Antonio Portia | Comedy | ||||
| Henry IV, Part I | 1597 | 1598 | Holinshed, Chronicles (1587) | King Henry IV Falstaff Henry, Prince of Wales (Prince Hal) Henry Percy ( "Hotspur" ) | History | ||||
| Henry IV, Part II | 1597 | 1600 | Holinshed | King Henry IV Falstaff Henry, Prince of Wales | History | ||||
| Much Ado about Nothing | 1598 | 1600 | Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1516) | Prince of Arragon Beatrice Benedick Claudio Hero | Comedy | ||||
| Henry V | 1598 | 1600 | Holinshed, Chronicles (1587) | King Henry V Archbishop of Canterbury Fluellen Pistol | History | ||||
| Julius Caesar | 1599 | 1623 | Plutarch, Lives (tr. by Sir Thomas North, 1579) | Brutus Cassius Marc Antony Caesar | Tragedy | ||||
| As You Like It | 1599 | 1623 | Thomas Lodge, Rosalynde (1590) | Rosalind Orlando Touchstone | Comedy | ||||
| Twelfth Night | 1599 | 1623 | Barnabe Riche, Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession (1581) | Sir Toby Belch Viola Sebastian Duke Orsino Olivia | Comedy | ||||
| Hamlet | 1600 | 1603 | François de Belleforest, Histoires Tragiques (1576) | Hamlet Horatio Ophelia Laertes Claudius Polonius Gertrude | Tragedy | ||||
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | 1600 | 1602 | Specific source not established | Falstaff Mrs. Page Mr. Ford | Comedy | ||||
| Troilus and Cressida | 1601 | 1609 | Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde (c.1386); William Caxton, Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1474) | Troilus Ulysses Pandarus Cressida | Comedy | ||||
| All's Well That Ends Well | 1602 | 1623 | William Painter, Palace of Pleasure (1566–67) | Bertram Helena Parolles King of France | Comedy | ||||
| Measure for Measure | 1604 | 1623 | George Whetstone, Promos and Cassandra (1578) | Vincentio Angelo Isabella Claudio Mariana | Comedy | ||||
| Othello | 1604 | 1622 | Giovanni Battista Giraldi ( "Cinthio" ), Ecatommiti (1565) | Othello Desdemona Iago Cassio | Tragedy | ||||
| King Lear | 1605 | 1608 | Holinshed, 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 Fool | Tragedy | ||||
| Macbeth | 1605 | 1623 | Holinshed | Duncan Macbeth Lady Macbeth Malcolm Macduff | Tragedy | ||||
| Antony and Cleopatra | 1606 | 1623 | Plutarch, Lives (tr. 1579) | Mark Antony Cleopatra Octavius Caesar | Tragedy | ||||
| Coriolanus | 1607 | 1623 | Plutarch | Coriolanus Tullus Aufidius Caius Marcius Menenius Agrippa Volumnia | Tragedy | ||||
| Timon of Athens(may have been written in collaboration with Thomas Middleton) | 1607 | 1623 | Plutarch; Lucian, Misanthropos (2d cent. AD) | Timon of Athens Apemantus Alcibiades Flavius | Tragedy | ||||
| Pericles(may have been written in collaboration with George Wilkins) | 1608 | 1609 | John Gower, Confessio Amantis (c.1390) | Pericles Thaisa Marina Simonides Lysimachus | Tragicomedy | ||||
| Cymbeline | 1609 | 1623 | Holinshed, Chronicles (1587); Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron (1348–53) | Cymbeline Imogen Posthumus Iachimo | Tragicomedy | ||||
| The Winter's Tale | 1610 | 1623 | Robert Greene, Pandosto (1588) | Leontes Hermione Paulina Autolycus Perdita Florizel Polixenes | Tragicomedy | ||||
| The Tempest | 1611 | 1623 | Specific source not established | Prospero Miranda Ferdinand Ariel Caliban | Tragicomedy | ||||
| Henry VIII(probably written in collaboration with John Fletcher) | 1612 | 1623 | Holinshed, Chronicles (1587); John Foxe, Book of Martyrs (1563) | King Henry VIII Queen Katherine Cardinal Wolsey Duke of Buckingham Anne Boleyn | History | ||||
| Two Noble Kinsmen(of doubtful authorship; may have been written in collaboration with John Fletcher) | 1612 | 1634 | Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale" in Canterbury Tales (c.1387) | Palamon Arcite | Comedy | ||||
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plays of William Shakespeare
plays of William Shakespeare
Title (in order of composition) | Principal Characters |
|---|---|
Henry VI Part 1 | Henry, Talbot |
Henry VI Part 2 | Henry, Margaret |
Henry VI Part 3 | Henry, Margaret |
Titus Andronicus | Titus, Aaron |
Richard III | Richard, Clarence |
The Comedy of Errors | Antipholus, Dromio |
Love's Labour's Lost | Ferdinand, Berowne |
The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Valentine, Proteus |
The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio, Katherine |
Richard II | Richard, Bolingbroke |
Romeo and Juliet | Romeo, Juliet |
A Midsummer Night's Dream | Oberon, Titania |
King John | John, Arthur |
The Merchant of Venice | Antonio, Shylock |
Henry IV Part 1 | Henry, Hal, Hotspur |
Henry IV Part 2 | Henry. Falstaff, Hal |
Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice, Benedick |
Henry V | Henry, Pistol |
Brutus, Antony | |
As You Like It | Rosalind, Orlando |
Twelfth Night | Orsino, Viola, Olivia |
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | Hamlet, Ophelia |
The Merry Wives of Windsor | Falstaff, Ford |
Troilus and Cressida | Troilus, Cressida |
All's Well That Ends Well | Bertram, Helena |
Measure for Measure | Vincentio, Angelo |
Othello | Othello, Iago, Desdemona |
King Lear | Lear, Cordelia, Regan Gloucester, Goneril |
Macbeth | Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo |
Antony and Cleopatra | Antony, Cleopatra |
Coriolanus, Volumnia | |
Timon of Athens | Timon, Apemantus |
Pericles, Prince of Tyre | Pericles, Marina |
Cymbeline | Imogen, Iachimo |
The Winter's Tale | Leontes, Perdita |
The Tempest | Prospero, Miranda |
Henry, Catherine |
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