Works of the Bard



Shakespeare wrote many works in his lifetime. These include comedies, tragidies, histories, and long poems. They are divided up into four periods.

First Period

The first period is all the time up to and including 1594. This is early in Shakespeare's career and he is writing all kinds of works. They are:

  • Henry VI (Parts I, II, and III)

  • Richard III

  • Titus Andronicus

  • The Comedy of Errors

  • The Taming of the Shrew

  • Two Gentlemen of Verona

  • Love's Labour' Lost

    Second Period

    This period takes place from 1594 to 1600. It contains histories, tragedies, and comedies, including The Merchant of Venice. They are:

  • Henry IV (Parts I and II)

  • Henry V

  • Richard II

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream

  • The Merchant of Venice

  • Much Ado About Nothing

  • As You Like It

  • Twelfth Night

  • The Merry Wives of Windsor

  • Julius Caesar

  • The Sonnetts

  • Romeo and Juliet

    Third Period

    This period takes place from 1600-1608. It has some of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, and what are called his "dark comedies." These works include:

  • Hamlet

  • Othello

  • King Lear

  • Antony and Cleopatra

  • Macbeth

  • Troilus and Cressida

  • Coriolanus

  • Timon of Athens

  • All's Well That Ends Well

  • Measure for Measure

    Fourth Period

    This period is everything after 1608. It has some plays that suggest redemtion in certain ways. These works are:

  • Pericles, Prince of Tyre

  • Cymbeline

  • The Winter's Tale

  • The Tempest

  • Henry VIII

  • The Two Noble Kinsmen


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