A Chronological Table (Plays, Books, and National Events)
H. Granville-Barker, G. B. Harrison · 1934
T he following chronological table covering Shakespeare's working years shows ( a ) some important national and theatrical events; ( b ) the date of publication of some important books; ( c ) approximate date of the first production of the most important plays during Shakespeare's career; ( d ) the dates of their first publication. The evidence for ( c ) and ( d ) will be found principally in Sir E. K. Chambers's Elizabethan Stage and William Shakespeare: a study of facts and problems . It is seldom possible to date the first appearance of a play exactly: before 1595 and after 1605 the margin of error may be as much as five years. Nor is there general agreement on the dates of Shakespeare's earliest and latest plays: some scholars would date the first as early as 1587. Plays which may be dated with some precision are marked.