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 Standalone Plays

The Two Gentlemen of Verona	(1589)
The Comedy of Errors	(1589)
Henry VI, Part One	(1590)
Titus Adronicus	(1591)
Henry VI, Part Two	(1592)
The Taming of the Shrew	(1593)
Richard III	(1593)
Henry VI, Part Three	(1593)
Love's Labour's Lost	(1594)
Romeo and Juliet	(1594)
A Midsummer's Night's Dream	(1595)
Richard II	(1595)
King John	(1595)
Henry IV, Part One	(1596)
The Merchant of Venice	(1596)
The Merry Wives of Windsor	(1597)
Henry IV, Part Two	(1597)
Much Ado About Nothing	(1598)
As You Like It	(1599)
Julius Caesar	(1599)
Henry V	(1599)
Troilus and Cressida	(1600)
Hamlet	(1600)
Twelfth Night or What You Will	(1601)
All's Well That Ends Well	(1603)
Measure for Measure	(1603)
Othello	(1603)
Timon of Athens	(1604)
King Lear	(1605)
Macbeth	(1606)
Pericles	(1607)
Antony and Cleopatra	(1608)
Coriolanus	(1608)
Cymbeline	(1609)
The Winter's Tale	(1609)
The Tempest	(1610)
The Two Noble Kinsmen	(1611)
Cardenio	(1612)
Henry VIII	(1613)