Select Chronology of Early Modern Drama
Studies in the Shakespeare Apocrypha are too often corrupted by an overly-weighted focus on Shakespeare himself, and the relationship of his plays to those disputed. While this is in itself of cultural and historical interest, it is of the utmost importance that any study of the disputed plays locate them in the wider dramatic climate. To this end, I am reading a wide range of plays from the period.
The table on this page contains a rough chronology of the plays I have read, drawn from the period in which the apocryphal plays first appeared. This table will be regularly updated as I continue my studies.
Dating is a contentious issue in early modern drama, and the dates here represent a mixture of fact and informed conjecture. The aim of this table is not to provide a definitive timeline, but rather to support my own reading by giving a sense of what was happening on the contemporary stage during the years in which the apocryphal plays first appeared. For plays where I have been unable to find any form of consensus over date, I have indicated this with a ? mark.
L-R: Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher, Christopher Marlowe
Notes:
Plays that have been grouped in the Shakespeare Apocrypha are highlighted yellow.
Early texts for plays included in the Shakespeare First Folio are only listed up to 1623.
Year (c.) | Title | Likely dramatist(s) | Early texts |
1574? | The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth | anon. | Quartos (1598, 1617) |
1582 | The Arraignment of Paris | Peele | Quarto (1584) |
1583 | Campaspe | Lyly | Quartos (3 x 1584, 1591) 1632 Six Court Comedies collection |
1584 | Sappho and Phao | Lyly | Quartos (1584 x2, 1591) 1632 Six Court Comedies collection |
1584 | Galatea | Lyly | Quarto (1592) 1632 Six Court Comedies collection |
1585 | Dido, Queen of Carthage | Marlowe/ Nashe(?) | Quarto (1594) |
1586 | The Spanish Tragedy | Kyd (additions later by Jonson) | Quartos (1592, 1594, 1599, 1602) Seven more quartos until 1633 |
1586 | The Weakest Goeth to the Wall | anon. (Munday?) | Quartos (1600, 1618) |
1587 | 1 Tamburlaine | Marlowe | Octavo (1590) |
1587 | 2 Tamburlaine | Marlowe | Octavo (1590) |
1587? | Edmond Ironside | anon. | Manuscript |
1588? | John a Kent and John a Cumber | Munday | Manuscript |
1588 | Dr. Faustus | Marlowe | A-text Quarto (1604) B-text Quarto (1616) |
1588 | Endymion | Lyly | Quarto (1591) 1632 Six Court Comedies collection |
1589 | Orlando Furioso | Greene | Quartos (1594, 1599) |
1589 | The Troublesome Reign of King John | anon. | Quarto (1591) |
1589 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1589 | Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay | Greene | Quartos (1594, 1630, 1655) |
1590? | King Leir and his Daughters | anon. | Quarto (1605) |
1590 | Midas | Lyly | Quarto (1592) 1632 Six Court Comedies collection |
1590 | Arden of Faversham | Shakespeare(?), Kyd(?) | Quartos (1592, 1599, 1633) |
1590 | Fair Em | Kyd (?) | Quartos (one undated, one 1631) |
1590 | The Taming of the Shrew | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1590 | 2 Henry VI | Shakespeare (and others?) | Quartos (1594, 1600, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1590 | The True Tragedy of Richard III |
anon. | Quarto (1594) |
1590 | The Jew of Malta | Marlowe | Quarto (1633) |
1590 | Mucedorus | anon. |
Quartos (1598, 1606, 1610, 1611, 1613, ten more quartos until 1668) |
1591 | 3 Henry VI | Shakespeare (and others?) | Octavo (1595), Quartos (1600, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1591 | Locrine | anon. | Quarto (1595) 1664 Shakespeare Folio |
1591 | Edward II | Marlowe | Octavo (1594) |
1592 | Titus Andronicus | Shakespeare/ Peele | Quartos (1594, 1600, 1611) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1592 | 1 Henry VI | Nashe/ Shakespeare/ Kyd? | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1592? | John of Bordeaux | Chettle, Greene (and others?) | Manuscript |
1592 | Soliman and Perseda | Kyd | Quartos (1599 x2) |
1592 | Sir Thomas More | Munday/Chettle | Manuscript |
1592? | Jack Straw | anon. | Quartos (1593, 1604) |
1592 | Richard III | Shakespeare | Quartos (1597, 1598, 1602, 1605, 1612, 1622) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1592 | 1 Selimus | Greene | Quarto (1594) |
1592?/ 1602? | Thomas of Woodstock/ 1 Richard II | anon. | Manuscript |
1593 | The Massacre at Paris | Marlowe | Quarto (undated) |
1593 | George a Greene | Greene | Quarto (1599) |
1593 | The Old Wives Tale | Peele | Quarto (1595) |
1594 | Cornelia | Kyd | Quartos (1594, 1595) |
1594 | Edward III | Shakespeare/ Kyd? | Quartos (1596, 1599) |
1594 | The Comedy of Errors | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1594 | Love's Labour's Lost | Shakespeare | Quarto (1598) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1594 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Shakespeare |
Quartos (1600, 1619) |
1594 | Romeo and Juliet | Shakespeare | Quartos (1597, 1599, 1609, 1622) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1595 | Richard II | Shakespeare | Quartos (1597, 1598 x2, 1608, 1615) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1595 | King John | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1596 | The Blind Beggar of Alexandria | Chapman | Quarto (1598) |
1596 | The Merchant of Venice | Shakespeare | Quartos (1600, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1596 | 1 Henry IV | Shakespeare |
Quartos (1598 x2, 1599, 1604, 1608, 1613, 1622) |
1596 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Shakespeare | Quartos (1602, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1596 | 2 Henry IV | Shakespeare | Quarto (1600) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1597 | An Humorous Day's Mirth | Chapman | Quarto (1599) |
1597 | A Warning for Fair Women | anon. | Quarto (1599) |
1598 | The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington | Munday/Chettle | Quarto (1601) |
1598 | Much Ado about Nothing | Shakespeare |
Quarto (1600) |
1598? | Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany | Peele? Chapman? |
Quarto (1654) |
1598 | The Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington | Munday/Chettle |
Quarto (1601) |
1598 | Every Man in his Humour | Jonson | Quarto (1601) 1616 Jonson Folio |
1598 | The Pilgrimage to Parnassus | anon. | Manuscript |
1599 | Histriomastix | Marston | Quarto (1610) |
1599 | Thomas Lord Cromwell | anon. | Quartos (1602, 1613) |
1599 | 1 Sir John Oldcastle | Munday, Drayton, Hathway, Wilson | Quartos (1600, 1619) 1664 Shakespeare Folio |
1599 | Henry V | Shakespeare | Quartos (1600, 1602, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1599 | 1 and 2 Edward IV | Heywood | Quartos (1599, 1600, 1605, 1613, 1619, 1626) |
1599 | A Larum for London | anon. | Quarto (1602) |
1599 | Julius Caesar | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1599 | Every Man out of His Humour | Jonson | Quartos (1600 x3) 1616 Jonson Folio |
1599 | The Shoemaker's Holiday | Dekker | Quartos (1600, 1610, 1618, 1624, 1631, 1657) |
1599 | As You Like It | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1599 | 1 Return from Parnassus | anon. | Manuscript |
1599(?) | All Fools | Chapman | Quarto (1605) |
1599 | Antonio and Mellida | Marston | Quarto (1602) 1633 octavo collection |
1599 | Old Fortunatus | Dekker | Quarto (1600) |
1600 | Patient Grissel | Dekker | Quarto (1603) |
1600 | Hamlet | Shakespeare | Quartos (1603, 1604, 1611, 1622) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1600 | Antonio's Revenge | Marston | Quarto (1602) 1633 octavo collection |
1601 | Twelfth Night | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1601 | 2 Return from Parnassus | anon. | Manuscript Quartos (1606 x2) |
1601 | May Day | Chapman | Quarto (1611) |
1601 | Poetaster | Jonson | Quarto (1602) 1616 and 1640 Jonson Folios |
1601 | Satiromastix | Dekker | Quarto (1602) |
1602 | The Merry Devil of Edmonton | anon. | Quartos (1608, 1612, 1617, 1626, 1631, 1655) |
1602 | Troilus and Cressida | Shakespeare | Quarto (1609) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1602? | Sir Thomas More (revised version) | Munday/ Dekker/ Shakespeare/ Heywood/ Chettle | Manuscript, first pub. 1844. |
1602 | The Gentleman Usher | Chapman | Quarto (1606) |
1603 | Sejanus, his Fall | Jonson | Quarto (1605) 1616 Jonson Folio |
1603 | The Malcontent | Marston/ later additions by Webster | Quartos (1604 x3) |
1603 | Measure for Measure | Shakespeare/ later adaptation by Middleton? | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1603 | A Woman Killed with Kindness | Heywood | Quartos (1607, 1617) |
1603 | The Tragedy of Hoffman | Chettle | Quarto (1631) |
1603 | The Fair Maid of Bristow | anon. | Quarto (1605) |
1603 | The Phoenix | Middleton | Quartos (1607, 1630) |
1604 | Othello | Shakespeare | Quarto (1622) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1604 | When You See Me, You Know Me | S. Rowley | Quartos (1605, 1613, 1621, 1632) |
1604 | The Patient Man and the Honest Whore | Middleton/Dekker | Quartos (1604 x2, 1605, 1615, 1635) |
1604 | The Wise Woman of Hogsdon | Heywood | Quarto (1638) |
1604 | All's Well that Ends Well | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1604 | Bussy D'Ambois | Chapman | Quartos (1607, 1641) |
1604 | Sir Thomas Wyatt | Dekker/Webster | Quartos (1607, 1612) |
1604 | The Widow's Tears | Chapman | Quarto (1612) |
1604 | Timon of Athens | Shakespeare/ Middleton | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1604 | Michaelmas Term | Middleton | Quartos (1607, 1630) |
1604 | The London Prodigal | anon., attrib. Shakespeare | Quarto (1605) 1664 Shakespeare Folio |
1604 | 1 If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody | Heywood | Quartos (1605, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1613, 1623, 1632, 1639) |
1605 | Monsieur D'Olive | Chapman | Quarto (1606) |
1605 | A Trick to Catch the Old One | Middleton | Quartos (1608, 1616) |
1605 | A Mad World, My Masters | Middleton | Quartos (1608, 1640) |
1605 | King Lear | Shakespeare | Quartos (1608, 1619) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1605 | 2 If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody | Heywood | Quartos (1606, 1609, 1623, 1633) |
1605 | Eastward Ho | Chapman/ Jonson/ Marston | Quartos (1605 x3) |
1605 | Macbeth | Shakespeare/ Middleton | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1605 | The Yorkshire Tragedy | Middleton/ Shakespeare? | Quartos (1608, 1619) 1664 Shakespeare Folio |
1606 | The Miseries of Enforced Marriage | Wilkins | Quartos (1607, 1611, 1629, 1637) |
1606 | The Puritan | Middleton | Quarto (1607) 1664 Shakespeare Folio |
1606 | Volpone | Jonson | Quarto (1607) 1616 Jonson Folio |
1606 | The Revenger's Tragedy | Middleton | Quarto (1607) |
1607 | Antony and Cleopatra | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1607 | The Knight of the Burning Pestle | Beaumont | Quartos (1613, 1635, 1650s) 1679 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1607 | Your Five Gallants | Middleton | Quarto (1608) |
1607 | The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles Duke of Byron | Chapman | Quartos (1608, 1625) |
1608 | Pericles, Prince of Tyre | Shakespeare/ Wilkins | Quartos (1609 x2, 1611, 1619, 1630, 1635) 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1608 | Coriolanus | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1608 | The Faithful Shepherdess | Fletcher | Quarto (undated, c.1609-10) |
1608 | The Bloody Banquet | Dekker/Middleton | Quarto (1639) |
1609 | The Winter's Tale | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1609 | Philaster; Or, Love Lies a-Bleeding | Beaumont/Fletcher | Quartos (1620, 1622, 1628, 1634, 1639, 1652, 1661 x2, 1689) 1679 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1609 | Cymbeline | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1609 | Epicene, or The Silent Woman | Jonson | 1616 Jonson Folio |
1610 | The Insatiate Countess | Marston/Barksted/Machin | Quartos (1613, 1616, 1631) |
1610 | Catiline | Jonson | Quartos (1611, 1637) 1616 and 1640 Jonson Folios |
1610 | The Tamer Tamed; or, The Woman's Prize | Fletcher | Manuscript 1647 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1610 | The Alchemist | Jonson | Quarto (1612) 1616 Jonson Folio |
1610 | The Maid's Tragedy | Beaumont/Fletcher |
Quartos (1619, 1622, 1630) |
1611 | The Roaring Girl | Middleton/ Dekker | Quarto (1611) |
1611 | No Wit/Help Like a Woman's; or, The Almanac | Middleton | Octavo (1657) |
1611 | The Lady's Tragedy (The Second Maiden's Tragedy) |
Middleton | Manuscript |
1611 | The Tempest | Shakespeare | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1611 | The Atheist's Tragedy | Tourneur | Quarto (1611/2 |
1611 | A King and No King | Beaumont/ Fletcher | Quartos (1619, 1625, 1631, 1639, 1655, 1611, 1676, 1693) 1679 Beaumont and Fletcher Folio |
1612 | The White Devil | Webster | Quartos (1612, 1631, 1665, 1672) |
1613 | The Honest Man's Fortune | Field/ Fletcher/ Massinger | Manuscript (1613) 1647 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1613 | Cardenio/ Double Falsehood | Shakespeare/ Fletcher/ Theobald | 1727 edition by Theobald |
1613 | A Chaste Maid in Cheapside | Middleton | Quarto (1630) |
1613 | Henry VIII (All is True) | Shakespeare/ Fletcher | 1623 Shakespeare Folio |
1613 | Wit at Several Weapons | Middleton/Rowley | 1647 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1613 | The Two Noble Kinsmen | Shakespeare/ Fletcher | Quarto (1634) 1679 Beaumont/Fletcher Folio |
1614 | The Duchess of Malfi | Webster | Quartos (1623, 1640, 1678) |
1614 | Bartholomew Fair | Jonson | Quarto (1631) 1641 Jonson Folio |
1614 | More Dissemblers Besides Women | Middleton | Octavo (1657) |
1614 | Valentinian | Fletcher | 1647 and 1679 Beaumont/Fletcher Folios |
1615 | Women Beware Women | Middleton | Octavo (1657) |
1615 | The Widow | Middleton | Quarto (1652) |
1616 | The Witch | Middleton | Manuscript |
1616 | The Devil is an Ass | Jonson | 1641 Jonson Folio |
1616 | A Fair Quarrel | Middleton/ Rowley | Quartos (1617, 1622) |
1618 | An/The Old Law (A New Way to Please You) | Middleton/ Rowley | Quarto (1656) |
1619 | The Devil's Law-Case | Webster | Quarto (1623) |
1620 | The World Tossed at Tennis | Middleton/Rowley | Quarto (1620) |
1621 | The Witch of Edmonton | Dekker/ Rowley/ Ford | Quarto (1658) |
1621 | Anything for a Quiet Life | Middleton/Webster | Quarto (1662) |
1622 | The Birth of Merlin | Rowley | Quarto (1662) |
1622 | An Invention | Middleton | |
1622 | The Changeling |
Middleton/ Rowley |
Quarto (1653) |
1622 | The Nice Valour; Or, The Passionate Madman | Middleton | 1647 and 1679 Beaumont/Fletcher Folios |
1623 | The Renegado | Massinger | Quarto (1630) |
1623 | The Spanish Gypsy | Ford/Dekker/Middleton/Rowley | Quartos (1653, 1661) |
1624 | The English Traveller | Heywood | Quarto (1633) |
1624 | A Game at Chess | Middleton | Quartos (2 x 1625) Manuscripts (six) |
1624 | The Captives | Heywood | Manuscript |
1625 | A New Way to Pay Old Debts | Massinger | Quarto (1633) |
1625 | A Cure for a Cuckold | Webster/ Rowley | Quarto (1661) |
1626 | The Roman Actor | Massinger | Quarto (1629) |
1629 | The New Inn | Jonson | Octavo (1631) 1692 Jonson Folio |
1630 | Believe as You List | Massinger | Manuscript |
1631 | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore | Ford | Quarto (1633) |
1632 | The Magnetic Lady | Jonson | 1641 Jonson Folio |
1632 | The City Madam | Massinger | Quarto (1658/9) |
1641 | The Cardinal | Shirley | Six New Plays octavo collection (1653) |