# Shakespeare's plays ranked from best to worst

All 37 plays in the traditional canon, from the great tragedies to the ones almost nobody stages, ordered as in StageMilk's ranking and other critics' lists.

- 140 votes · 37 items
- Apr 20, 2025 · Orla McCarthy
- https://even.best/en/l/2187/shakespeare-s-plays-ranked-from-best-to-worst

## Top 37

1. **Hamlet** (8 · ▲10 ▼2) — Tragedy, c. 1600. The prince of Denmark and his endless doubt.
2. **Richard III** (7 · ▲8 ▼1) — History, c. 1593. The villain who charms the audience.
3. **Othello** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Tragedy, c. 1603. Iago, the jealousy machine.
4. **Henry IV, Part 1** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — History, c. 1597. Prince Hal and the unforgettable Falstaff.
5. **Twelfth Night** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Comedy, c. 1601. Shipwrecked twins and mistaken identities.
6. **Measure for Measure** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Problem play, c. 1604. Justice and hypocrisy in Vienna.
7. **The Merchant of Venice** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — Comedy, c. 1596. Shylock and the pound of flesh.
8. **A Midsummer Night's Dream** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Comedy, c. 1595. Fairies, lovers and amateur actors in a forest.
9. **Romeo and Juliet** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Tragedy, c. 1595. The most famous love story ever staged.
10. **Henry VI, Part 2** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — History, c. 1591. Jack Cade's rebellion.
11. **Macbeth** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — Tragedy, c. 1606. Ambition, witches and blood in Scotland.
12. **King Lear** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Tragedy, c. 1606. An old king divides his kingdom and loses everything.
13. **Julius Caesar** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Tragedy, 1599. Conspiracy and rhetoric in Rome.
14. **Henry VI, Part 1** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — History, c. 1591. Joan of Arc and the start of the Wars of the Roses.
15. **Troilus and Cressida** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Problem play, c. 1602. The Trojan War seen without any glory.
16. **Cymbeline** (2 · ▲4 ▼2) — Romance, c. 1610. Ancient Britain, a wager and a sleeping potion.
17. **The Tempest** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Romance, c. 1611. Prospero's island, often read as his farewell.
18. **Much Ado About Nothing** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Comedy, c. 1598. Beatrice and Benedick's war of wits.
19. **Henry V** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — History, 1599. Agincourt and the great rallying speeches.
20. **Richard II** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — History, c. 1595. A poet-king who loses his crown.
21. **Coriolanus** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Tragedy, c. 1608. A Roman general too proud for politics.
22. **The Taming of the Shrew** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Comedy, c. 1591. Petruchio and Katherina; much debated today.
23. **As You Like It** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Comedy, c. 1599. Rosalind in disguise in the Forest of Arden.
24. **Henry IV, Part 2** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — History, c. 1598. Falstaff grows old and Hal grows up.
25. **Henry VIII** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — History, 1613. Written with John Fletcher; the Globe burned during a performance.
26. **The Winter's Tale** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Romance, c. 1611. Jealousy, sixteen lost years and a statue that comes alive.
27. **The Comedy of Errors** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Comedy, c. 1594. Two sets of twins, one huge mix-up.
28. **The Two Gentlemen of Verona** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Comedy, c. 1590. Possibly his first play; famous for the dog Crab.
29. **Pericles, Prince of Tyre** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Romance, c. 1608. Co-written; shipwrecks and a long lost daughter.
30. **Timon of Athens** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Tragedy, c. 1606. A generous man turned misanthrope.
31. **Antony and Cleopatra** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Tragedy, c. 1607. Love and empire between Rome and Egypt.
32. **Henry VI, Part 3** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — History, c. 1591. The young Richard of Gloucester appears.
33. **Titus Andronicus** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Tragedy, c. 1592. His bloodiest revenge play.
34. **King John** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — History, c. 1596. The reign of Magna Carta's king, without Magna Carta.
35. **All's Well That Ends Well** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Problem play, c. 1605. Helena wins a husband who doesn't want her.
36. **Love's Labour's Lost** (-1 · ▲2 ▼3) — Comedy, c. 1595. Four young men swear off women; it goes badly.
37. **The Merry Wives of Windsor** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Comedy, c. 1597. Falstaff tries his luck with two married women.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.