| 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 |
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, 156667) |
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 |
FranCois 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 (156667) |
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 |
1607 |
1623 |
Plutarch;
Lucian, Misanthropos (2d cent. A.D.) |
Timon of Athens
Apemantus
Alcibiades
Flavius |
Tragedy |
| Pericles |
1608 |
1609 |
John Gower, Confessio Amantis (c.1390) |
Pericles
Thaisa
Marina
Simonides
Lysimachus |
Tragicomedy |
| Cymbeline |
1609 |
1623 |
Holinshed, Chronicles (1587);
Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron (134853) |
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 |
