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The precise Chronology of Shakespeare's plays
as they were first written is impossible to determine, as there is
no authoritative record, and many of the plays were performed many
years before they were published. In fact, many of Shakespeare's earliest works were published
anonymously, or remained unpublished until the First Folio (1623).
This lack of information, along with other seeming discrepancies in
Shakespeare's historical record, are often cited in reference to
the Shakespeare Authorship Question, an issue
most mainstream scholars reject. In spite of this, interest in the
authorship debate has grown, particularly among independent
scholars, theatre professionals and some academicians. This trend
has continued into the 21st century.
The leading alternative candidate for Shakespeare authorship is
Edward de Vere, 17th
Earl of Oxford. Scholars and researchers who favour the Oxford
candidacy are called Oxfordians. A basic proposal of the Oxfordian
argument is the theory that many of the plays regarded as "late
plays" or "collaborations" were actually reworkings of Oxford's
earlier plays, or were revised by other writers after Oxford's
death in 1604.[1] Some
orthodox scholars, including A.R. Cairncross, Peter Alexander,
Prof. Karl Elze and Eric
Sams, as well as all Oxfordian researchers, dissent from the generally accepted
Stratfordian chronology. Oxfordian researchers Charlton Ogburn
& Mark Anderson, among others, have reconstructed the plays'
relative chronology by various means, including contemporary
allusions and records of performance, entries in the Stationers' Register, dates of
publication as reflected on the title pages of individual plays, a
1598 list of many of Shakespeare's plays then extant by Francis Meres,
visceral impressions, and studies of Oxford's writing style over
time, in addition to his education, travels, theatrical background
and personal relationships.[2]
Taking into account the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare
Authorship, the following chronology represents a minority
viewpoint to mainstream Stratfordian dating.[3]
Oxfordian
Chronology of Shakespeare's Works
(Dates in parentheses indicate the date of first publication
only.)
- (1562), "The Tragical
History of Romeus and Juliet", proposed by Ogburn to be a
childhood work of Oxford, under the pseudonym Arthur Brooke.
- (1567), Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in collaboration with
Oxford's uncle and tutor, Arthur Golding.[4]
- 1574, Famous Victories of Henry Fifth, early version
of Henry IV,
Part 1 & 2, and Henry V.
- 1577, revised 1594 (1623) The Comedy of Errors earlier
version called A Historie of Error.[5]
- If this is the same as the play entitled "The Night of Errors,"
it was also performed on 28 December 1594.
- 1577, revised 1593 (1594) Titus Andronicus .
- 1577, (1609) Pericles Prince
of Tyre. Completed in 1607 by another hand, probably
George Wilkins.
- 1578, editor and collaborator (1609) Euphues: The Anatomy
of Wyt. (According to Ogburn, by the late 1570s, Oxford is
regarded as the unofficial head of the Euphuist faction of
poets.)
- 1578, (1623) Cymbeline; earlier version called "An
History of the Cruelties of A StepMother"
- 1579, revised in 1602 (1623) All's Well That Ends
Well; earlier version called “An History of the Second
Helene"
- 1579, (1623) The Taming of the Shrew;
earlier version called “A Morall of the Marriage of Mynde and
Measure”
- 1579, revised in 1590 (1623) Love's Labour's Lost, earlier
version called "A Maske of Amazons and a Maske of Knights”
- 1579, (1623) Merchant of
Venice; earlier version called “The Jew”
- 1580, revised 1592 (1844) Sir Thomas More
- Reputedly written by Anthony Munday, it is theorized to have
been transcribed by Munday on behalf of Oxford, his employer. At
this time Munday served as Oxford's "writing secretary".
- 1581, revised 1594 (1597) Romeo and Juliet
- 1581, revised 1592 (1602) Richard III
- 1581, revised 1590 (1595) Henry VI, Part
III
- 1583, revised in 1599 (1600) Much
Ado About Nothing
- 1584, revised 1590 (published 1598) Henry VI, Part I
- Stationers' Register on 25 February 1598.
- 1585, revised 1598 (published 1600) Henry IV, Part
2
- 1586, revised in 1599 (1600) Henry V
- 1588, revised in 1599 (1623) As You Like It[6]
- Stationers' Register in August 1600
- 1589, revised in 1599 (1623) Julius
Caesar
- Mentioned by Thomas Platter the Younger
in 1599.
- 1589, revised in 1601 (1603) Hamlet[7]
- Stationers' Register in July 1602 describes it as “lately
acted.”
- 1589 (published 1600) Henry VI, Part
II
- Parodied by Robert
Greene in 1592.
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1590, revised in 1596 (1622) King John
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1591, revised 1604 (1622) Othello
- Performed November 1604.
- Stationers' Register in November 1607.
- 1592, revised in 1602 (1623) Twelfth Night
- 1593 (1623) Taming of the
Shrew
- 1593, (1623) Henry VIII (probably revised in
1612 by John Fletcher)[8]
- 1594 (1623) The Two Gentlemen of
Verona
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1594 (1598) Love's Labour's Lost
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1594, revised in 1603 (1623) Macbeth; revised again in 1615 by Thomas
Middleton.[9]
- 1594, revised 1603 (1608) King Lear, earlier version called "The
True Chronicle History of King Leir"
- 1594, (1623) "The Winter's Tale; earlier
version called "A Winter’s Night Pastime".
- 1595 (1597) Richard II
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1595 (1600) A Midsummer Night's
Dream
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1596 (1600) The Merchant of Venice
- Recorded at Stationers' Register on 22 July 1598. In Francis
Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1597 Henry IV, Part I
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays.
- 1594-1597 (1603?) Love's Labour's Won
- In Francis Meres' 1598 list of Shakespeare plays. In
Christopher Hunt's August 1603 booklist. A lost play.
- 1598 (1602) Merry Wives of
Windsor,
- 1601 (1609) Troilus and Cressida
- Stationers' Register in February 1603.
- 1602 (1623) Measure for Measure
- 1603 (1623) Coriolanus
- 1603 (1623) Antony and Cleopatra
- Stationers' Register in May 1608.
- 1603, (1623) Timon of Athens, completed in 1607
by another hand, possibly Thomas Middleton.
- Stationers' Register in May 1608.
- 1603 (1623) The Tempest
[10]
- Unknown start date (1728) Cardenio (possibly
completed in 1612 by John Fletcher)
- Was performed in 1613. Published only in an adaptation by Lewis Theobald
entitled Double Falshood; essentially a
lost play.
- Unknown start date (1634) The Two Noble Kinsmen
(possibly completed by John Fletcher).
The following plays have been attributed to Shakespeare but are
in fact of different or uncertain authorship:
See also
References
- ^
Joseph Sobran, Alias Shakespeare, 1977. Page 150.
- ^
Ogburn, "The Mystery of William Shakespeare, 1984, pages
697-700
- ^
Ogburn, "The Mystery of William Shakespeare, 1984, pages
699-735
- ^
Mark Anderson, Shakespeare By Another Name, April, 2005. Page
396
- ^
Sobran, page 154-55
- ^
Sobran posits 1594
- ^
Sobran, Page 156-57
- ^
Anderson reports that many leading 18th & 19th century scholars
dated Henry VIII to "pre-1604" including Samuel Johnson, Lewis
Theobald, George Steevens, Edmond Malone and James Orchard
Halliwell-Phillipps. Page 403
- ^
Anderson posits 1585-86, page 401
- ^
Karl Elze, as glossed by Anderson, page 400
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