Dating Shakespeare's Plays

Dating Shakespeare's "King Lear" Through Textual Evidence and Scholarly Analysis

The dating of William Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear" is a subject of scholarly inquiry that relies on textual evidence and historical context. The play is believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, with its first recorded performance on December 26, 1606. The use of Samuel Harsnett's "Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures," published in 1603, provides a terminus a quo (earliest possible date) for the play's composition. Scholar Gary Taylor has proposed that Shakespeare may have been influenced by works from early 1605, suggesting a slightly later start to the writing process. References to eclipses within the play correspond to actual astronomical events in September and October 1605, which could indicate a composition date close to these occurrences. The publication of "The True Chronicle History of King Leir" in 1605, a play that Shakespeare's "King Lear" is based on, suggests that Shakespeare's version was already known and possibly performed by that time. The case of Brian Annesley, which parallels the "Lear" narrative and dates to 1603, provides further context for the play's creation. Stylistic analysis, comparing "King Lear" to Shakespeare's other works, places it chronologically between "Othello" and "Macbeth," and in close proximity to "Timon of Athens."

The Complex Attribution and Dating of "Timon of Athens"

The dating and authorship of Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" are complex due to the play's irregular structure and the potential involvement of Thomas Middleton. The play is first mentioned in the Stationers' Register in 1623, as part of the preparations for the publication of the "First Folio," and the earliest known performance occurred in 1674. The absence of act divisions, which became standard after 1608, suggests an earlier composition date. Allusions to the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605 and a pamphlet from June 1605 indicate a composition date between late 1605 and 1608. Metrical and stylistic analyses link "Timon" to Shakespeare's works from around 1605–1606. The nature of Middleton's contribution, whether as a co-author or later reviser, is debated among scholars, but his influence is discernible in the text.