Balti state university a. Russo chair of english philology

 Four  Periods in Shakespeare’s Literary Career 
William Shakespeare has created quite a number of works, that include 37 plays, 156 sonnets, 
2 poems and some stories. His plays can be subdivided into tragedies and comedies. The historical 
plays bring forth the life of some great people, such as Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Henry 
VI, Richard III, etc. W. Shakespeare‟s literary career can be divided into four periods 
1. 
1589-1600. This period is characterized by an optimistic tone. The plays of this 
period are full of light and wit, and are written in a bright spirit of Renaissance. The 
characters of these plays are the creators of their own fate. During this time the 
great dramatist created most of his comedies, several historical plays and his first 
tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
To this period refer: 
1589-1592 Henry VI, (parts I,II, III) 
1592-1593 Richard III, The Comedy of Errors 
1593-1594 Titus Andronicus, the Taming of the Shrew 
1594-1595 The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love‟s Labour‟s Lost, Romeo and Juliet 
1595-1596 Richard II, A Midsummer Night‟s Dream 
1596-1597 King John, The Merchant of Venice
1597-1598 Henry VI, (Part I) Henry VI (partII) 
1598-1599 Much Ado about Nothing, Henry V 
1599-1600 Julius Caesar, As You like it 
2. 
1600- 1608 The second period of Shakespeare‟s creation is the summit of his 
literary career. He produced the greatest plays, that are admired by people today just 
as they were during his times. The chronology of the second period runs as follows: 
1600-1601 Hamlet Prince of Denmark, Merry Wives of Windsor 
1601 -1602 Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida 
1602-1603 All‟s Well that Ends Well 
1604-1605 Measure for Measure, Othello 
1605-1606 King Lear, Macbeth 
1606-1607 Anthony and Cleopatra 
1607-1608 Coriolanus, Timon of Athens 
3. 1608-1613 This is the last period of romances and tragicomedy, which include: 
1608-1609 
Pericles 
1609-1610 
Cymbeline 

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45 
45 
1609-1611 
Winter‟s Tale 
1611-1612 
The Tempest 
1612-1613 
Henry VIII, The Two Noble Kinsmen 
For the first time Shakespeare‟s plays were published in Folio in 1623 and republished later 
in 1632 and 1663. Before that many of W. Shakespeare‟s plays have been pirated and some parts of 
plays have been printed from “foul papers” (papers reproduced by the actors that used to play a 
certain part and put it down later by memory). They were not precise variants of Shakespeare‟s 
plays. The Folio published in 1616 by Ben Jonson included 36 plays, 22 of them appearing for the 
first time in good text. They present the main and the most reliable source of W. Shakespeare‟s 
creation.