William Shakespeare Group

Question:

lilchill
lilchill
Student
High School - 12th Grade

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

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Posted by lilchill on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 5:20 PM and tagged with bibliography, how many, number, plays, shakespeare, william shakespeare.

Answers:

  1. dneshan
    dneshan Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. 

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    Posted by dneshan on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 5:23 PM


  2. enotechris Teacher
    Vocational

    Shakepeare's plays can be ordered into 3 categories:

    Comedy  -  17

    Tragedy  -  10

    History   -   10

    for a total of 37. 

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    Posted by enotechris on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 5:31 PM


  3. robertwilliam

    The answers above fall into a bit of a trap - the matter is far more complicated than they suggest: as there are at least two plays which we think Shakespeare wrote which have not survived.

    Meres writes of "Love's Labour's Won" (a sequel, we think, to "Love's Labour's Lost") and another textual source (Humphrey Mosely) tells us of another lost play "Cardenio". No copies of either has survived.

    Some scholars, moreover, think that Shakespeare wrote "Edward III", and it is now generally accepted that he wrote - at least some of - a play called "Sir Thomas More". Scholars disagree about whether the writing (which has survived) is Shakespeare's, or the work of another playwright. Some of the plays - including "Henry VIII" - which we know to be by Shakespeare, were likely also co-written with other writers.

    "The Two Noble Kinsmen" is also now - though not included in the First Folio - generally believed to be by Shakespeare.

    So the answer depends on who you believe. It's 38 (including "The Two Noble Kinsmen") plus (depending on what you believe) "Edward III" and "Sir Thomas More", and - if they indeed existed - "Cardenio" and "Love's Labour's Won".

    So the best scholarly answer at present is 42. But who knows what time will reveal!

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    Posted by robertwilliam on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 5:53 PM

  4. anzio45
    anzio45

    Yes, the matter is complicated and there is talk of co-written plays and lost texts, but to include these in the total is pushing it rather a lot. Of course, there are people who believe that Shakespeare wrote none of the plays at all, but the clearest anwswer to the question is that given by the earlier answerers.

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    Posted by anzio45 on Monday December 1, 2008 at 6:42 AM

  5. playshakespeare-com
    playshakespeare-com Teacher
    Doctorate

    As robertwilliam said, it's widely accepted to be 38. There will probably never be any change to that number because it relies primarily on determining how much Shakespeare co-wrote with other authors. If he wrote at least 51% of a play, does that mean it's officially accepted in the canon? There are a number of grey areas like that which could swing the number higher, but not likely. The "trap" he refers to is that it can never be proven 100% one way or the other...only "based on the current evidence."

    Sources:
    http://www.playshakespeare.com/facts

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    Posted by playshakespeare-com on Monday December 1, 2008 at 2:22 PM

  6. ashii
    ashii Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    actual no. of plays written by Shakespeare is 39 according to the net. you can type" number of plays written by Shakespeare" in yahoo search and see the results you would surely get the results.

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    Posted by ashii on Tuesday February 3, 2009 at 3:51 AM

  7. noitall
    noitall Student
    High School - 12th Grade

    i agree. it is somewhat complitcated. the nuber attempted:42. number completed: 37-38.

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    Posted by noitall on Thursday April 2, 2009 at 2:18 PM

  8. fiore1111
    fiore1111 Student
    College - Senior

    william shakespeare :)

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    Posted by fiore1111 on Thursday June 4, 2009 at 4:11 AM