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Considered to be one of Shakespeare's earliest works, the play is generally believed to have been written before 1592
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Believed to have been written in 1591 and Shakespeare's first play based on English history
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Written in 1591/92, with its first performance possibly in January 1594
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Generally assumed to be the 'harey the vi' performed at the Rose Theatre in 1592
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Could have been written in 1592, shortly before the plague struck, or in 1594 when the theatres reopened post-plague
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Could have been written in 1592, shortly before the plague struck, or in 1594 when the theatres reopened post-plague
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Was possibly written for Gray's Inn Christmas festivities for the legal profession in December 1594
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Written immediately after Part II, a short version of the play was published in Octavo form in 1595
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An edition of the play in 1598 refers to it being 'presented before her Highness [Queen Elizabeth] this last Christmas', and most scholars date it to 1595-96
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Often dated to 1595-96. Reference in Act 1 Scene 2 to courtiers being afraid of a strage lion may allude to an incident in Scotland in 1594
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Astrological allusions and earthquake reference may suggest composition in 1595-96
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Typically dated 1595-96. Described in 1601 as 'old and long out of use'
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Written between 1595 and 1597; an anonymous two-part King John was published in 1591 but Shakespeare's version is stylistically close to later histories
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Known to be written around the 1590s as it was mentioned by Francis Meres in his list of Shakespeare's plays in 1598, no firm evidence for a particular year
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Registered for publication in 1598, reference to a ship Andrew suggests late 1596 or early 1597 as a Spanish ship of the name was captured around that time
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Probably written and first performed 1596-97, registered for publication in 1598
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Late 1598, not mentioned in Francis Meres's 1598 list of Shakespeare's plays but included the role Dogberry for Will Kemp, a comic actor who left the company in early 1599
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Written in 1599, mentions a 'general... from Ireland coming', could be referring to the Earl of Essex's Irish expedition in 1599
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Typically dated late 1599. Not mentioned in Francis Meres's 1598 list of Shakespeare's plays, unless orignally called Love's Labours Won
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- Not mentioned in Meres's 1598 list of plays, seen at the Globe by Swiss visitor Thomas Platter in 1599
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Written around 1597-98 and registered for publication in 1600, both parts are based on Holinshed's Chronicles
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Dated around 1600, registered for publication in summer 1602. There are allusions to Julius Caesar, which was writtein in 1599
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Estimated 1597 - 1601, though an allusion to the Order of the Garter might indicate that it was performed at the Garter Feast in 1597
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- Not mentioned in Meres's 1598 list of plays and alludes to a map first published in 1599
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Dated 1601-02, registered for publication early 1603 and alludes to the play Thomas Lord Cromwell, which was registered for publication in 1602
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Dated 1604 though some argue for a slightly earlier date. It is recorded to have been performed in court in November 1604
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Performed at court for Christmas 1604, probably written earlier the same year
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Dated 1605-06. Performed at court December 1606 and seems to refer to eclipses of September and October 1605
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Certainly more Jacobean than Elizabethan based on the play's severe compliments to King James
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No strong evidence for date written or first performed, but it is usually dated 1603-06 on stylistic grounds
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Estimated 1604-06 based on stylistic similarity to King Lear
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Dated 1606-07, registered for publication in 1608 and perhaps performed at court in 1606 or 1607
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Perhaps written in 1608. Allusion to 'coal of fire upon ice' in Act 1 could refer to the great frost of winter in 1607/08
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Registered for publication in 1608; Wilkin's novel The Painful Adventures of Pericles, cashing in on the success of the play, was published in 1608
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A performance in 1611 is recorded. Theatres were reopened in spring 1610 after a long closure due to the plague
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Performed at the Globe May 1611; dance of satyrs apparently borrows from a court entertainment of January 1611
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Performed at court in November 1611; uses source material not available before autumn 1610
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The first Globe theatre burnt down in a fire that started during a performance of the play on 29 June 1613
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'our loss' in the Prologue probably refers to the Globe fire of 1613