|
date |
publication and SR |
Source, influences |
Edward
III
1st Quarto Edition |
1590
(1589-95 ) |
SR(1.Dec.1595)
1596(Q1)
1599(Q2) |
- Froissart, Jean (c.1337-1410). Chroniques (c.1495) (John
Bourchier's English translation in 1523-5)
- Painter, William (1540-94). The Palace of Pleasure (1566-7)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
|
Two
Gentlemen of Verona |
1590
1594-5
(1589-94)
|
1623(F1) |
- Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75). Decameron10th day, the
story of "Titus and Gisippus"
- Elyot, Thomas (c.1490-1546). The Boke named the Governour(1531)
- Montemayor, Jorge de (c.1521-61). Diana Enamorada (1542,
English translation in 1582. publication in 1598) the story of
"Felix and Felismena"
- Anonymous. The History of Felix and Philiomena (the record
of the performance in 1585)
- Brooke, Arthur (?-1563). The Tragical History of Romeus and
Juliet (English translation in 1562)
- Lyly, John (c.1554-1606). Euphues (1578)
|
The
Taming of the Shrew |
1593
(1589-94) |
1623(F1) |
- Anonymous ballad. A Merry Jest of a Shrewede and
Curste Wyfe (printed 1550)
- Gascoigne, George (1542-77). Supposes (performed 1566,
published 1573, 1587. Translation of Italian drama , I suppositi
(1509)
- Anonymous. The Taming of a Shrew (1594) SR(2.May.1594)
- the influence of Commedia dell'arte
|
2
Henry VI |
1590-1
|
SR(12.Mar.1594)
1594(Q1)
1600(Q2)
1619(Q3)
1623(F1)
|
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550)
- Fabyan, Robert (?-1513). New Chronicles of England and France
(1516)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Grafton, Richard (c.1512-c.1572). A Chronicle at Large of
History of the Affayres of England (1516)
- Hardyng, John (1378-c.1465). The Chrocicle of John Hardyng
(1543)
- Foxe, John (1516-87). The Book of Martyrs (4th ed., 1583)
|
3
Henry VI |
1590-1 |
SR(19.Apr.1602)
1595(O)*
1600(Q2)
1619 (Q3)
1623(F1)
|
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- William Baldwin ed. The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552-99). The Faerie Queene (1590)
- descriptions of the sun at 2.1.
- Brooke, Arthur (?-1563). The Tragical History of Romeus and
Juliet (English translation in 1562) - Queen Margaret's speech
at 5.4.
- Kyd, Thomas (1558-94) The Spanish Tragedy (1588-9) and
Soliman and Perseda (1590)
*For convenience sake, it is sometimes called Q1. |
Titus
Andronicus |
1589
1592
(1588-1594)
|
SR(6.Feb.1594)
1594(Q1)
1600(Q2)
1611(Q3)
1623(F1)
|
- a chapbook of "Titus Andronicus" sold by chapmen.
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Metamorphoses (Arthur Golding's English
translation in 1567)
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (4. BC-AD65). Thyestes (English
translation in 1560)
|
1
Henry VI |
1589-92
|
1623(F1) |
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Fabyan, Robert (?-1513). New Chronicles of England and France)
(1516)
|
Richard
III |
1592
(1591-93)
|
SR(20.Oct.1597)
1597(Q1)
1598(Q2)
1602(Q3)
1605(Q4)
1612(Q5)
1622(Q6)
1623(F1)
1629 (Q7)
1634 (Q8)
|
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1587 edition)
- More, Thomas. History of King Richard the Thirde. (1543)
- William Baldwin ed. The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
|
Venus and
Adonis
|
1593
(1592-1594) |
SR(18.Apr.1593)
1593(Q1)
1594(Q2)
1595? (O1)
1596(O2)
1599(O3)
1599(O4)
1602?(O5)
1602(O6-O8)
1617(O9)
|
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Metamorphoses (Arthur Golding's English
translation in 1567) Book 10.
|
The
Rape of Lucrece |
1594 |
SR(9.May.1594)
1594 (Q)
1598 (O1)
1600(O2)
1600(O3)
1607(O4)
1616(O5)
|
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Fasti Book 2. (Latian version)
- Titus Livius (59BC-AD17). Ab urbe condita libri Book
1. (Latin)
- Painter, William (1540-94). The Palace of Pleasure (1566-7)
- Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340-1400). The Legend of Good Women
(c. 1386)
|
The
Comedy of Errors |
1591
1594
(1590-94) |
1623(F1) |
- Plautus (c.254-184 BC). Menaechmi (perfromed 1592 with
English translation by William Warner, printed 1595)
- Plautus (c.254-184 BC). Amphitryon (Latin)
- George Gascoigne (1542-77). Supposes (performed 1566,
published 1573, 1587. Translation of Italian drama , I suppositi
(1509)
- the influence of Commedia dell'arte
|
Love's
Labour's Lost |
1590
1594-95
|
SR(22.Jan.1607)
1598 (Q1)
1623(F1)
|
No written source for the plot has been found.
- the influence of Commedia dell'arte
|
A
Midsummer Night's Dream |
1595 |
SR(8.Oct.1600)
1600(Q1)
1619 (Q2)
1623(F1)
|
No written source for the plot has been found and it seems that
the plot is Shakespeare's original. However, there are influences
from followings.
Theseus and Hippolyta
- Plutarch (c.46-120). Lives (Thomas North's translation
in 1579)
- Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1340-1400). The Canterbury Tales
"The Knight's Tale" (1400)
The story of "Pyramus and Thisbe" and the name of Titania.
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Metamorphoses (Arthur Golding's English
translation in 1567)
Oberon
- Huon of Bordeau, a 13th-century French adventure tale
translated by Lord Berners (1534)
|
The
Sonnets |
1593-1603
(1593-1609) |
SR(20.May.1609)
1609(Q)
|
There are no particular source, however, Shakespeare might have
been influenced by followings.
- Daniel, Samuel (c.1562-1619). Delia (1592) distructive
"Time"
- Sidney, Philip (1554-86). Astrophel and Stella (1591)
- indirectly but the inference of Francesco Petrarca (1304-74)
|
Romeo
and Juliet |
1595
(1594-96) |
SR(22.Jan.1607)
1623(F1)
|
- Brooke, Arthur (?-1563). The Tragical History of Romeus and
Juliet (English translation in 1562)
|
Richard
II |
1595 |
SR(29.Aug.1597)
1597 (Q1)
1598 (Q2)
1598 (Q3)
1608 (Q4)
1615 (Q5)
1623(F1)
|
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Anonymous. Thomas of Woodstock (c. 1592)
- Froissart, Jean(c.1337-1410). Chroniques (1495?)(John
Bourchier's English translation in 1523-5)
- William Baldwin ed. The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
- Daniel, Samuel (c.1562-1619). The Civil Wars between the
Two Houses of Lancaster and York (1595-1609)
|
King
John |
1590-1
1596-7 |
1623(F1) |
- Anonymous. The Troublesome Raigne of John King of England2
Vol. (1591)(?)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Foxe, John (1516-87). The Book of Martyrs (4th ed., 1583)
|
The
Merchant of Venice |
1596-7 |
SR(22.Jul.1598)
1600(Q1)
1619(Q2)
1623(F1) |
- Fiorentino, Ser Giovanni Il Pecorone (The Simpleton)
(1558)
- Gesta Romanorum (1340, translation by Richard Robinson,
1595 ed)
- a Lost English play The Jew
- Marlowe, Christopher (1564-93). The Jew of Malta (c.
1589)
- Munday, Anthony, Zelauto (1580)
|
1
Henry IV |
1596-97 |
SR(25.Feb.1598)
?(Q0)
1598(Q1)
1599(Q2)
1604(Q3)
1608(Q4)
1613(Q5)
1622(Q6)
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Daniel, Samuel (c.1562-1619). The Civil Wars between the
Two Houses of Lancaster and York (1595-1609)
- Anonymous. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (c.
1586)
- William Baldwin ed. The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
- Stow, John (1525-c.1605) The Chronicles of England (1580)
|
The
Merry Wives of Windsor |
1597
(1597-8) |
SR(18.Jan.1602)
1623(F1) |
There are no particular source for the plot, however, Shakespeare
might get inspirations and be influenced by followings.
- Fiorentino, Ser Giovanni Il Pecorone (The Simpleton)
(1558)
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Metamorphoses (Arthur Golding's English
translation in 1567)
- Lyly, John (c.1554-1606). Endimion (1588)
|
2
Henry IV |
1597-8 |
SR(23.Aug.1600)
1600(Q)
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Anonymous. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (c.
1586)
- Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550)
- Daniel, Samuel (c.1562-1619). The Civil Wars between the
Two Houses of Lancaster and York (1595-1609)
- William Baldwin ed. The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
|
Much
Ado About Nothing |
1598
(1598-99) |
SR(4.Aug.1600)
1623(F1) |
- Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533). Orlando Furioso (1516)(The
English translation by John Harington in 1591)
- Bandello, Matteo (1485-1561) Novelle (1554-73) 22th
story.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552-99). The Faerie Queene (1590)
- Francois de Belleforest (1530-83). Histories Tragiques
(1568) Book 3
- Whetstone, George The Roke of Regard (1576) -Clauido's
rejuction of Hero at her own wedding
- Castiglione, Baldassare (1478-1529)The Book of the Courtier
(1528)
|
Henry
V |
1599
(1598-99) |
SR(4.Aug.1600)
1600(Q1)
1602(Q2)
1619(Q3)
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Anonymous. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (c.
1586)
- Robert Fabyan (?-1513). New Chronicles of England and France)
(1516)
- Samuel Daniel (c.1562-1619). The Civil Wars between the Two
Houses of Lancaster and York (1595-1609)
|
The
Passionate Pilgrim |
1599 |
1599(O1)
?(O2)
1612(O3) |
|
Julius
Caesar |
1599 |
1623(F1) |
- Plutarch (c.46-120). Lives (Thomas North's English translation
in 1579)
- Appian [Appianos] (2nd century). Civil Wars (English
translation in 1578)
- Anonymous.The Tragedy of Caesar and Pompey, or Caesar's Revenge
(c. 1595)
|
As
You Like It |
1599
(1599-00) |
SR(4.Aug.1600)
1623(F1) |
- Thomas Lodge (c.1557-1625). Rosalynde (1590)
|
Hamlet
|
1600-01 |
SR(26.Jul.1602)
1603 (Q1)
1604 (Q2)
1611(Q3)
1623(F1) |
- Thomas Kyd (1558-94). Ur-Hamlet (c. 1589)
- Francois de Belleforest (1530-83). Histories Tragiques
Book 5 (1570)
|
Twelfth
Night |
1601
(1601-02) |
1623(F1) |
- Barnabe Riche (c.1540-1617). Farewell to Militarie Profession
(1581) the story of "Apolonius and Silla"
- Bandello, Matteo (1485-1561) Novelle (1554-73)
|
The Phoenix
and the Turtle
|
1601 |
1601(Q1)
1611(Q2) |
There are no particular
source, however, Shakespeare might have been influenced by followings.
- Chester, Robert Love's Martyr where The
Phoenix and the Turtle appears
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Amores Book 2 6th poem.
- Matthew Roydon's elegy in The Phoenix Nest
- Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1340-1400). The Pralement of Foules
|
Troilus and Cressida |
1602
(1601-03) |
SR(7.Feb.1603)
1609(Q)
1623(F1) |
- Homer (c. 900.BC). Iliad (English translation in 1598
by George Chapman)
- Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1340-1400). Troilus and Criseyde
(c. 1385)
- Caxton, William (c.1421-91). Recuyell of the Historyes of
Troye) (1475, 5th ed. 1596)
- Lydgate, John (c.1370-1449). The Troy Book (1412-20,
1555 ed)
|
A Lover's Complaint |
1603-04
(1600-04) |
SR(20.May.1609)
1609(Q)
|
- Samuel Daniel (c.1562-1619). The Complaint of Rosamond
(1592)
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552-99). Complaints (1591)
|
Measure
for Measure |
1604
(1603-04) |
1623(F1) |
- Geroge Whetstone (c.1544-87). Promos and Cassandra (1578)
- Cinthio, Giovanni Battista Giraldi.1504-73). Hecatommithi
(1565. No English translations have found, therefore, Shakespeare
probably read it either in Italian or French.)
- Cinthio, Giovanni Battista Giraldi.1504-73) Epitia (1583.
No English translations have found, therefore, Shakespeare probably
read it either in Italian or French..)
- Barnabe Riche (c.1540-1617). The Adventures of Brusanus,
prince of Hungaria (1592)--Lucio's interactions with the disguised
Duke.
|
Othello
|
1603-04 |
SR(6.Oct.1621)
1622(Q1)
1623(F1)
1630(Q2)
|
- Cinthio (Giovanni Battista Giraldi.1504-73). Hecatommithi
(1565. No English translations have found, therefore, Shakespeare
probably read it either in Italian or French.) Book 2, 7th story
of "Disdemona and the Moor"
- Pliny, the Elder (23-79). Naturalia Historia (Philemon
Holland's translation in 1601)
- Africanus, Leo. A Geographical History of Africa (English
translation by John Pory, 1600)
|
All's
Well That Ends Well |
1605
(1602-05) |
1623(F1) |
- Painter, William (1540-94). The Palace of Pleasure (1566-7)
|
Timon
of Athens |
1605
(1604-08) |
1623(F1) |
- Plutarch (c.46-120). Lives (Thomas North's English translation
in 1579)
- Lucian (c. 120-180). Timon, the Misanthrope (No English
translation which Shakespeare could use is found.)
- John Lyly (c.1554-1606). Campaspe (c. 1584)
- Anonymous. Timon. (c. 1602)
|
King
Lear |
1605
(1605-06) |
SR(26.Nov.1607)
1608(Q1)
1619(Q2)
1623(F1) |
- Anonymous. The True Chronicle History of King Leir (c.
1590)
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of
England, Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Sidney, Philip (1554-86). The Arcadia (1590)
- Spenser, Edmund (c.1552-99). The Faerie Queene (1590)
|
Macbeth
|
1606 |
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of
England, Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Buchanan, George (1506-82) (1582)
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (4BC. - AD 65). Hercules Furens
and Agamemnon (English translation in 1565)
|
Antony
and Cleopatra |
1607
(1606-07) |
SR(20 May.1608)
1623(F1) |
- Plutarch (c.46-120). Lives (Thomas North's translation
in 1579)
- Appian [Appianos] (2nd century). Civil Wars (English
translation in 1578)
- Daniel, Samuel (c.1562-1619). The Tragedy of Cleopatra
(c. 1594)
|
Pericles
|
1607-08 |
SR(20.May.1608)
1609(Q1)
1609(Q2)
1611(Q3)
1619(Q4)
1630(Q5)
1635(Q6)
1664(F3)
|
- Gower, John (c. 1330-1408) Confessio Amantis. (1554 ed)
which was from the medieval collection of Latin tales, Gesta
Romanorum (c. 1340)
- Twine, Lurence (active 1564-1576) The patterne of Painefull
Adventures (1594, 1607)
- Sidney, Philip (1554-86). The Arcadia (1590)
|
Coriolanus
|
1608
(1607-08) |
1623(F1) |
- Plutarch (c.46-120). Lives (Thomas North's English translation
in 1579)
- Livius, Titus or Livy (59BC-AD17). Ab Urbe Condita Libri
(Philemon Holland's English translation as The Romane Historie
in 1600.)
- Camden, William (1551-1623). Remaines of Greater Worke Concerning
Britain (1605)
- Averell, William A Marvaillous Combat of Contrarieties
|
The
Winter's Tale |
1609
(1609-11) |
1623(F1) |
- Robert Greene (c.1558-92). Pandosto (1588)
- Ovid (43 BC- AD18). Metamorphoses (Arthur Golding's English
translation in 1567)
|
Cymbeline
|
1609
(1609-10) |
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- William Baldwin ed). The Mirror for Magistrates (1559
ed.)
- Anonymous. Frederyke of Jennen 3rd ed., (1560)
- Anonymous. The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune (performed
158, printed 1589)
- Boccaccio, Giovanni (1313-75). Decameron 2nd Day, 9th
story
|
The
Tempest |
1611
(1610-11) |
1623(F1) |
There are no particular source for the plot, however, Shakespeare
might get inspirations and be influenced by the event. In June 1609,
the Sea Adventure was wrecked at Bermuda. A survivor William Strachey
described his experience in a letter and his letter was circulate
din manuscript.
- Strachey, William (c.1567-c.1634) (dated 15.Jul.1610, printed
1625)
- Jourdain, Sylvester (?-1650). A Discovery of the Bermudas
(1610)
- Jourdain, Sylvester (?-1650) The True Declaration of the
Estate of Colonie in virginia (1610)
|
Henry
VIII
|
1613
(1612-13) |
1623(F1) |
- Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England,
Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
- Foxe, John (1516-87). The Book of Martyrs (4th ed., 1583)
|
Two
Noble Kinsmen
1st Quarto Edition (1634) |
1613
(1612-14) |
SR(8.Apr.163)
1634(Q) |
- Chaucer, Geoffrey (c. 1340-1400). The Canterbury Tales
(c.1482)
- Plutarch (c. 46-120). Lives (Thomas North's English translation
in 1579)--Theseus' depiction esp.1.1.
- Beaumont, Francis (c. 1584-1616) (the Masque of the Inner
Temple and Gray's Inn) (1613)
|
Muir, Kenneth. The Sources of Shakespeare Plays. London: Methuen,
1977.
I also used introductions of the Norton Shekespeare, the New Cambridge
Shakespeare, the Arden Shakespeare etc..