Books in Order: A Detailed Look into Shakespeare’s Life and Unique Writing Style
Renowned as arguably the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) penned captivating plays and enchanting poetry that still captivate audiences and readers around the globe. This Stratford-Upon-Avon native married Anne Hathaway, raising three children together (with two being twins!). His brilliance in the literary world was undisputed during his lifetime. However, his legend status wasn’t truly cemented until the 19th century. Today, his classic works continue to be studied in-depth, performed dramatically, and reinterpreted in numerous ways by various artists.
Shakespeare’s Initial Endeavors: Ordering His Books in Order
Shakespeare’s first recognized work, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, dates back to 1589 and didn’t reach publication until 1623. This was after he had already written Love’s Labour’s Won, a play lost in the annals of history, but believed to predate 1589. Shakespeare’s extensive body of work can be broken down into categories: Comedies, Poems, Histories, Tragedies, and Apocrypha.
Books in Order: An Examination of William Shakespeare’s Officially Recorded Plays
For those interested in exploring Shakespeare’s books in order, the following provides a structured list of his plays organized by their first official record:
Publication Order of Comedy Plays
| The Tempest | (1593) |    |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | (1594) | |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | (1594) | |
| Measure for Measure | (1594) | |
| The Comedy of Errors | (1594) | |
| Much Ado About Nothing | (1595) | |
| Love’s Labour’s Lost | (1595) | |
| A Midsummer Night’s Dream | (1595) | |
| The Merchant of Venice | (1596) | |
| As You Like It | (1599) | |
| The Taming of the Shrew | (1599) | |
| All’s Well That Ends Well | (1604) | |
| Twelfth Night | (1605) | |
| The Winter’s Tale | (1605) | |
| Pericles | (1606) | |
| The Two Noble Kinsmen | (1634) | |
| Order of plays is based on the First Folio. | ||