A red theater curtain – Shakespeare Plays in Order

Shakespeare Plays in Order: The Complete Guide to Tragedies, Comedies, and Histories

Updated September 2026

Shakespeare Plays in Order: The Short Answer

William Shakespeare wrote or co-wrote 38 plays that scholars generally accept, between about 1589 and 1614, starting with early comedies and the Henry VI plays and ending with The Tempest and two collaborations with John Fletcher. The table below gives the Shakespeare plays in order of approximate composition. Many modern editions also add Edward III, which Shakespeare seems to have written in part, bringing the count to 39.

Thirty-six plays were collected in the First Folio of 1623; Pericles and The Two Noble Kinsmen were left out and are now included in every complete works. Nobody knows the exact order. Most of the plays were never dated by Shakespeare, and about half were not printed until after his death. The list below follows the approximate composition order used in most modern scholarship, including the Oxford edition. Treat every date as "give or take a year or two," and the early plays as the least certain.

# Play Approx. date Genre
1 The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1589–91 Comedy
2 The Taming of the Shrew 1590–91 Comedy
3 Henry VI, Part 2 1591 History
4 Henry VI, Part 3 1591 History
5 Henry VI, Part 1 1592 History
6 Titus Andronicus 1592 Tragedy
7 Richard III 1592–93 History
8 Edward III (partly Shakespeare) 1592–93 History
9 The Comedy of Errors 1594 Comedy
10 Love's Labour's Lost 1594–95 Comedy
11 Richard II 1595 History
12 Romeo and Juliet 1595 Tragedy
13 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595 Comedy
14 King John 1596 History
15 The Merchant of Venice 1596–97 Comedy
16 Henry IV, Part 1 1596–97 History
17 The Merry Wives of Windsor 1597–98 Comedy
18 Henry IV, Part 2 1597–98 History
19 Much Ado About Nothing 1598 Comedy
20 Henry V 1599 History
21 Julius Caesar 1599 Tragedy
22 As You Like It 1599–1600 Comedy
23 Hamlet 1600–01 Tragedy
24 Twelfth Night 1601 Comedy
25 Troilus and Cressida 1602 Problem play
26 Measure for Measure 1603–04 Problem play
27 Othello 1603–04 Tragedy
28 All's Well That Ends Well 1604–05 Problem play
29 Timon of Athens 1605–06 Tragedy
30 King Lear 1605–06 Tragedy
31 Macbeth 1606 Tragedy
32 Antony and Cleopatra 1606–07 Tragedy
33 Pericles 1607–08 Romance
34 Coriolanus 1608 Tragedy
35 The Winter's Tale 1609–11 Romance
36 Cymbeline 1610 Romance
37 The Tempest 1610–11 Romance
38 Henry VIII 1613 History
39 The Two Noble Kinsmen 1613–14 Romance

In this guide:

How Scholars Date Shakespeare's Plays

Scholars piece the order together from a handful of hard clues, then fill the gaps with style. The main anchors:

  • Francis Meres, 1598. His book Palladis Tamia praised twelve Shakespeare plays by name, so those must exist by 1598, including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice. He also names a Love's Labour's Won, which is either lost or another play under a different title.
  • Eyewitnesses. A Swiss traveler, Thomas Platter, saw Julius Caesar at the Globe in September 1599. A law student, John Manningham, recorded seeing Twelfth Night in February 1602.
  • The Globe fire. The theatre burned down on June 29, 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, which dates that play precisely.
  • Printing. About half the plays first appeared in the 1623 First Folio, compiled by Shakespeare's fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell. Without it, Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar might have been lost.
  • Style. Early plays use more rhyme and regular verse; late ones use looser, knottier lines. Tests like this are how the undated plays get slotted in.

Some plays were also co-written. Most scholars see other hands in Titus Andronicus (George Peele), Timon of Athens (Thomas Middleton), Pericles (George Wilkins), and the last two plays with John Fletcher.

Shakespeare's Plays Grouped by Genre

The First Folio sorted the plays into Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. Modern critics split out two more groups, and those five labels are what you will see in most school editions.

Tragedies (10)

Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Timon of Athens, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus. The big four, which most people mean by "the great tragedies," are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all written within about six years.

Comedies (10)

The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Twelfth Night. The comedies usually involve mistaken identity, disguise, lovers kept apart, and a group wedding at the end.

Problem plays (3)

Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure, All's Well That Ends Well. These are technically comedies, or close to it, but they are bitter and morally uncomfortable. Save them for advanced students.

Romances (5)

Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, The Two Noble Kinsmen. His late plays: families separated and reunited, long spans of time, magic, and forgiveness where the tragedies had revenge.

Histories (10, or 11 with Edward III)

Covered in reign order in the next section.

The History Plays in Reign Order

Shakespeare did not write the histories in historical order. He wrote the Wars of the Roses plays first, then went back to the causes. If you want to follow the story of the English crown as history, read them in this order:

Play Monarch's reign
King John 1199–1216
Edward III 1327–1377
Richard II 1377–1399
Henry IV, Part 1 1399–1413
Henry IV, Part 2 1399–1413
Henry V 1413–1422
Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3 1422–1461, 1470–1471
Richard III 1483–1485
Henry VIII 1509–1547

The eight plays from Richard II to Richard III form two linked sets of four. Richard II through Henry V, often called the Henriad, follows Prince Hal from tavern-crawling youth with Falstaff to the victor of Agincourt. It is the best of the histories, and Henry IV, Part 1 is the one to try first. The three Henry VI plays and Richard III cover the Wars of the Roses. Reading all eight in reign order is a genuinely rewarding project for a high school history and literature year, and our British literature reading list shows what to read after them.

Best First Shakespeare Plays for Students, by Age

The order Shakespeare wrote them is the wrong order to teach them. Start with short, clear plots and build up.

  1. A Midsummer Night's Dream — the best first play for almost any age, from about 10. Fairies, four confused lovers and a troupe of hopeless amateur actors.
  2. Twelfth Night or Much Ado About Nothing — ages 12 and up. Much Ado's sparring pair, Beatrice and Benedick, win over teenagers who think Shakespeare is stuffy.
  3. Julius Caesar — a traditional 9th or 10th grade play, with almost no romance and great speeches for recitation.
  4. Macbeth — his shortest tragedy, fast and spooky. Great for teens.
  5. Romeo and Juliet — often assigned in 9th grade.
  6. Hamlet, King Lear, Othello — upper high school, once students are comfortable with the language.

Several of these also appear on our list of 100 books to read before high school graduation, which is handy for planning the other years.

Content notes for parents

Shakespeare's plays are full of bawdy puns, most of which go over young readers' heads and are explained in school editions. Romeo and Juliet ends in a double suicide. Titus Andronicus is extremely violent and is not for young readers at all. The Merchant of Venice and Othello deal with antisemitism and racism, and are best read with discussion. The Taming of the Shrew raises questions about marriage that are worth talking through.

Easing kids in

For younger children, start with retellings. Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare (1807) retells twenty plays in prose, and E. Nesbit's Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is another old favourite. Ken Ludwig's How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare (2013) is a practical guide for parents built around memorizing short passages. For teens, a parallel-text edition with modern English on the facing page takes the fear out of a first full play; switch to a standard annotated edition once they are comfortable. Our classic books for middle schoolers list has other good bridges into older literature.

Shakespeare on Film, Plus the Poems and Sonnets

These are scripts, and they make much more sense performed. Good film versions for students include Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and full-text Hamlet (1996), all rated PG-13; Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), which has brief nudity; and the BBC Television Shakespeare series (1978–1985), which filmed 37 plays and is a steady, faithful resource for homeschoolers. Read a scene, then watch it. For more films that pair well with history lessons, see our historical movies on DVD for homeschool families.

Beyond the plays, Shakespeare also published two long narrative poems, Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594), and his 154 Sonnets appeared in 1609.

Used Shakespeare Editions on Our Shelves

Used Shakespeare is one of the easiest things to build a set of: single-play school editions, complete works and study guides all turn up regularly. See the Shakespeare titles in stock now, browse classic literature, or look through our literary criticism and study guides. Free shipping on orders over $15.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

Scholars generally accept 38, including collaborations. Some editions add Edward III for 39. The 1623 First Folio contains 36.

What was Shakespeare's first play?

No one knows for certain. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew and the Henry VI plays, all from around 1589–1592, are the usual candidates.

What was Shakespeare's last play?

His last plays were collaborations with John Fletcher: Henry VIII (1613) and The Two Noble Kinsmen (about 1613–14). The Tempest (about 1611) is usually called his last solo play.

What order should I read the history plays in?

For the story, read them in reign order: King John, Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI Parts 1–3, Richard III, Henry VIII. Or start with the Henriad, Richard II through Henry V.

Which Shakespeare play should a beginner read first?

A good first choice is A Midsummer Night's Dream. For teens who want a tragedy, Macbeth is short and gripping.

What Shakespeare plays are taught in high school?

The plays taught most often are Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Hamlet, with A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello and Twelfth Night close behind.

What are Shakespeare's four great tragedies?

The usual list of four is Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, written between about 1600 and 1606.

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