William Shakespeare/Works
The Plays
Shakespeare's plays are traditionally organised into three groups: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. The following (resortable) list sorts the plays according to their order in the First Folio, the first published edition of Shakespeare's plays. Today, some of the comedies are usually considered as a separate subgenre, the 'romances' or tragicomedies; these plays are so marked in the "Genre" column.
| Title | Genre | Précis | Main Characters | Date Written |
Date Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tempest | Romance | Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, meets his usurpers on an island. | Prospero, Miranda | 1611 | 1623 |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Comedy | The friendship of Valentine and Proteus versus their romantic love for Sylvia. | Valentine, Proteus | 1593 | 1623 |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | Comedy | Falstaff attempts to seduce Mistresses Ford and Page. | Falstaff, Ford | 1597 | 1602 |
| Measure for Measure | Comedy | The Duke of Vienna leaves the enforcement of his laws to the harsh Antonio. | Vincentio, Angelo | 1604 | 1623 |
| The Comedy of Errors | Comedy | The farcical adventures of two sets of twins. | Antipholus, Dromio | 1590 | 1623 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Comedy | Beatrice and Benedict wage a "merry war", concealing their true feelings. | Beatrice, Benedick | 1598 | 1600 |
| Love's Labour's Lost | Comedy | The King of Navarre and three companions agree to give up worldly pleasures,including love, for three years. | Ferdinand, Berowne | 1593 | 1598 |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Comedy | The adventures of young lovers, rude mechanicals, and fairies in Athens. | Oberon, Titania | 1594 | 1600 |
| The Merchant of Venice | Comedy | Antonio borrows from Shylock on behalf of his friend Bassanio. | Antonio, Shylock | 1596 | 1600 |
| As You Like It | Comedy | Rosalind and Celia escape to the Forest of Arden, Rosalind disguised as a boy. | Rosalind, Orlando | 1598 | 1623 |
| The Taming of the Shrew | Comedy | "Shrewish" Katherine must wed before her younger sister can. | Petruchio, Katherine | 1591 | 1623 |
| All's Well That Ends Well | Comedy | Helena plots to marry the reluctant Bertram. | Bertram, Helena | 1603 | 1623 |
| Twelfth Night, or What You Will | Comedy | Viola, shipwrecked, separated from her brother, and disguised as a boy, enters Duke Orsino's service. In love with Orsino herself, she must help him win the hand of Olivia. | Orsino, Viola, Olivia | 1600 | 1623 |
| The Winter's Tale | Romance | Jealousy ends marriage and friendship; time brings reconciliation | Leontes, Perdita | 1610 | 1623 |
| King John | History | The life and death of King John | John, Arthur | 1596 | 1623 |
| Richard II | History | Richard's mistakes lead to his downfall at the hands of Henry Bolingbroke. | Richard, Bolingbroke | 1595 | 1597 |
| Henry IV, Part 1 | History | Henry has taken the throne, but must put down rebellion. He needs the help of his son, Hal, who is spending his youth in bad company. | Henry, Hal, Hotspur | 1597 | 1598 |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | History | Henry's crown is again threatened by civil war, while Prince Hal returns to his life with the disreputable Falstaff. | Henry, Falstaff, Hal | 1598 | 1600 |
| Henry V | History | The English defeat the French at Agincourt. | Henry, Pistol | 1599 | 1600 |
| Henry VI, Part 1 | History | The aftermath of the Death of Henry V | Henry, Talbot | 1592 | 1623 |
| Henry VI, Part 2 | History | The beginning of the War of the Roses | Henry, Margaret | 1591 | 1594 |
| Henry VI, Part 3 | History | The House of York defeats the House of Lancaster.The prelude to the rise of Richard III | Henry, Margaret | 1591 | 1595 |
| Richard III | History | Richard's seizure of the throne and defeat at Bosworth Field. | Richard, Clarence | 1592 | 1597 |
| Henry VIII | History | The scheming Cardinal Wolsey opposes Henry | Henry, Catherine | 1613 | 1623 |
| Troilus and Cressida | Tragedy | The love story of Troilus and Cressida set against the backdrop of the Trojan War | Troilus, Cressida | 1602 | 1609 |
| Coriolanus | Tragedy | The proud Roman general, Coriolanous betrays Rome. | Coriolanus, Volumnia | 1608 | 1623 |
| Titus Andronicus | Tragedy | Roman general and Gothic queen in a cycle of revenge | Titus, Tamara | 1590 | 1594 |
| Romeo and Juliet | Tragedy | Two "star-cross'd lovers" have a passionate affair, defying their families, with tragic results. | Romeo, Juliet | 1595 | 1597 |
| Timon of Athens | Tragedy | False friends cause Timon to become a misanthrope. | Timon, Apemantus | 1606 | 1623 |
| Julius Caesar | Tragedy | Conspirators assassinate Julius Caesar and are then defeated. | Brutus, Antony | 1599 | 1623 |
| Macbeth | Tragedy | Macbeth seeks to gain the Scottish throne through murder, believing that no man "of woman born" can kill him. | Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo | 1605 | 1623 |
| Hamlet | Tragedy | Hamlet seeks to avenge the death of his father. | Hamlet, Ophelia | 1601 | 1603 |
| King Lear | Tragedy | Lear foolishly chooses his scheming eldest daughters over Cordelia. | Lear, Cordelia, Regan Gloucester, Goneril | 1605 | 1608 |
| Othello | Tragedy | Othello is destroyed by his jealous love for Desdemona. | Othello, Iago, Desdemona | 1604 | 1622 |
| Antony and Cleopatra | Tragedy | Antony and Cleopatra are defeated by Octavius. | Antony, Cleopatra | 1606 | 1623 |
| Cymbeline | Romance | Villainy, a wicked stepmother and a separated family. | Imogen, Iachimo | 1609 | 1623 |
The first printings of the First Folio omitted Troilus and Cressida, but it was quickly added. Scholars are generally agreed that all of these plays are at least partly by Shakespeare, and most his sole work. A minority of scholars believe them all his sole work.
Later in the seventeenth century, several other plays were added in later editions, but these were deleted again early in the eighteenth century. One of them, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, was restored in Malone's edition of 1792, and has regularly been included since. It is generally accepted as at least partly by Shakespeare.
In recent decades most scholars have come to accept The Two Noble Kinsmen as being by Fletcher and Shakespeare, and it is usually included in scholarly editions.
Most scholars accept some passages of Sir Thomas More as by Shakespeare, and some editions include either these passages or the whole play.
Many scholars have recently concluded that Edward III is at least partly by Shakespeare, and some editions include it.
Sources:
- "plays of William Shakespeare" (requires subscription). World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- Plot synopses from the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- Terry A. Gray, "Shakespeare's Canon." Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet (website). Accessed November 7, 2007.
Poems
- Shakespeare's Sonnets
- Venus and Adonis
- The Rape of Lucrece
- The Passionate Pilgrim
- The Phoenix and the Turtle
- A Lover's Complaint