It is particularly difficult to establish the dates of composition and the relative chronology of the early works, up to those named by Francis Meres in his 'Palladis Tamia' of 1598. The following list is based on the 'Canon and Chronology' section in 'William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion' by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, with John Jowett and William Montgomery, Oxford, Clarendon Press, (1987), where more detailed information and discussion may be found.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1590-1
The Taming of the Shrew, 1590-1
The First Part of the Contention (Henry VI, Part Two), 1591
Richard Duke of York (Henry VI, Part Three), 1591
Henry VI, Part One, 1592
Titus Andronicus, 1592
Richard III, 1592-3
Venus and Adonis, 1592-3
The Rape of Lucrece, 1593-4
The Comedy of Errors, 1594 Love's Labour's Lost, 1594-5
Richard II, 1595
Romeo and Juliet, 1595
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1595
King John, 1596
The Merchant of Venice, 1596-7
Henry IV, Part One, 1596-7
The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1597-8
Henry IV, Part Two, 1597-8
Much Ado About Nothing, 1598
Henry V, 1598-9
Julius Caesar, 1599
As You Like It, 1599-1600
Hamlet, 1600-1
Twelfth Night, 1600-1
Troilus and Cressida, 1602
The Sonnets, 1593-1603
A Lover's Complaint, 1603-4
Sir Thomas More, 1603-4
Measure for Measure, 1603
Othello, 1603-4
All's Well That Ends Well, 1604-5
Timon of Athens, 1605
King Lear, 1605-6
Macbeth, 1606
Antony and Cleopatra, 1606
Pericles, 1607
Coriolanus, 1608
The Winter's Tale, 1609
Cymbeline, 1610
The Tempest, 1611
Henry VIII (All is True), 1613
The Two Noble Kinsmen, 1613-14

From: 'A Dictionary of Shakespeare' by Stanley Wells with the assistance of James Shaw (Oxford University Press, 1998), pp.224-5. By permission of author.