This is a selection of notable plays written by William Shakespeare (with GEMs highlighted). The list includes links for several associated items which may be available online for each book: (a) Wikipedia page, (b) e-book, and (c) audiobook. There is also a column called “More info” with links to optional posts on each book.
William Shakespeare is without question the greatest playwright who ever lived. (Indeed many people consider him to be the greatest English-language writer of all time in any genre). Shakespeare wrote a variety of plays in three different categories: (a) comedy, (b) tragedy and (c) history. I am not particularly fond of Shakespeare’s history plays about the British monarchy, so I have not included them on my list. All of his other plays in the categories of comedy and tragedy are listed.
Note that some of Shakespeare’s plays were not performed on the stage until well after they were written or published, and conversely some of his plays were not published until many years after they were performed (in some cases they saw publication only after Shakespeare’s death in 1616). That’s why there are separate columns for the year-performed and the year-published in the list below.
Note that the list is sortable by each column. (Multiple levels of sorting are possible by sorting more than one column in succession, from lowest to highest.) You can also do an instant filtering of the table by entering a character string in the ‘Search’ field.
Please share any comments or suggestions on this list by filling out this form. You can use the same form to express interest in becoming a contributor to the site and also request downloadable PDF files for many of the books below.
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