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Curated category

Shakespearean comedies

  • The TempestThe year 1610 marked the beginning of a creative period for William Shakespeare. Evidence suggests he wrote The Tempest between late 1610 and mid-1611.
  • As You Like ItThe play As You Like It emerged from the creative ferment of late 1598 and early 1599. No quarto edition exists for this work, meaning its first printed…
  • Twelfth NightWilliam Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night, or What You Will around the year 1601. The play was likely created as a specific entertainment for the close of the…
  • All's Well That Ends WellThe First Folio of 1623 lists All's Well That Ends Well among Shakespeare's comedies, yet scholars cannot agree on when the play was written.
  • Measure for MeasureThe play Measure for Measure first appeared in print within the First Folio of 1623, though scholars believe it was written during 1603 or 1604.
  • Much Ado About NothingWilliam Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing during the years 1598 and 1599. The play first appeared in print when stationers Andrew Wise and William…
  • The Winter's TaleThe play The Winter's Tale draws its main plot from Robert Greene's pastoral romance Pandosto, published in 1588. Shakespeare made uncharacteristically…
  • The Merchant of VeniceThe play The Merchant of Venice emerged between 1596 and 1598, a period when William Shakespeare was establishing his reputation in London.
  • Shakespearean comedyThe year 1623 marked the publication of a massive book called the First Folio. This volume collected thirty-six plays by William Shakespeare for the first…
  • A Midsummer Night's DreamFour days before the wedding of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, Hermia stands in Athens facing a choice that could end her life.
  • CymbelineWilliam Shakespeare set his play Cymbeline in ancient Britain, drawing the name of its king from Cunobeline, a real historical figure mentioned by Suetonius…
  • The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew emerged from a foggy period between 1590 and 1592, when William Shakespeare first arrived in London.
  • The Two Noble KinsmenThree queens arrive at the gates of Athens to plead with Theseus and Hippolyta. They demand justice for their husbands, who were killed by Creon of Thebes.
  • Pericles, Prince of TyreIn 1609, a quarto edition of Pericles appeared on the London bookstalls with no author listed. The title page claimed it was written by William Shakespeare…
  • The Comedy of ErrorsWilliam Shakespeare wrote The Comedy of Errors during the latter part of 1594. This play stands as one of his earliest works and remains his shortest comedy…
  • The Two Gentlemen of VeronaShakespeare drew his plot from the Spanish prose romance The Seven Books of Diana by Jorge de Montemayor, published in 1559.