This list breaks down Shakespeare's plays by type. You'll also get a brief summary of each play by Shakespeare, if you need help remembering what a specific play is about.
Comedies
All’s Well That Ends Well: Bertie runs away to avoid his new wife, Helena, but she follows him and tricks him into being her faithful husband.
As You Like It: A romp in the Forest of Arden, where everyone falls in love.
The Comedy of Errors: Two sets of twins turn the town of Ephesus upside down.
Cymbeline: A jealous husband believes a false story about his wife. She runs away and meets her long-lost brothers.
Love’s Labour’s Lost: The King of Navarre and his court try to study in seclusion but succumb to the temptations of love.
Measure for Measure: Power corrupts Angelo, the substitute duke, who tries to seduce the sister of a condemned man.
The Merchant of Venice: Moneylender Shylock tries to recover his “pound of flesh” collateral for a loan.
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Sir John Falstaff puts the moves on the Merry Wives, who turn the tables on him.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Mix-and-match couples in the woods near Athens. “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Much Ado About Nothing: Claudio loves Hero. Benedick doesn’t like Beatrice. Then Claudio hates Hero, and Benedick loves Beatrice. Eventually, everyone gets married.
Pericles: Pericles lives, loves, loses, and regains his family while touring the Mediterranean Sea.
The Taming of the Shrew: Petruchio “tames” his wife, Katherina.
The Tempest: Prospero uses magic to reclaim his dukedom and find a husband for his daughter, Miranda.
Troilus and Cressida: In ancient Troy, Troilus and Cressida vow undying love, which dies all too quickly.
Twelfth Night: Orsino loves Olivia. Olivia loves Cesario. Cesario is really Viola, who loves Orsino.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Nothing can come between best friends Valentine and Proteus, except a girl, Sylvia.
The Two Noble Kinsmen: Two brothers fight for love in ancient Greece.
The Winter’s Tale: Jealous husband Leontes drives away his wife, children, and best friend.
Histories
King John: John turns over England to the Pope.
King Richard II: Henry Bolingbroke deposes King Richard and becomes King Henry IV.
King Henry IV, Part 1: Henry wonders why his son can’t be more like that nice Hotspur boy, until Hotspur rebels against the king.
King Henry IV, Part 2: Henry’s son Hal continues to act up, and rebels still threaten the throne, but Hal comes out all right in the end and becomes King Henry V.
King Henry V: Henry invades France.
King Henry VI, Part 1: Joan of Arc leads the French army against England. The Houses of York and Lancaster start a spat that lasts through the next three plays.
King Henry VI, Part 2: Peasants and the House of York rebel against King Henry.
King Henry VI, Part 3: The House of York deposes King Henry, despite help from France. Edward, son of the Duke of York, takes the throne as King Edward IV.
King Richard III: Edward’s brother, Richard, kills everyone in his way and seizes the throne, only to lose it and his life.
King Henry VIII: King Henry divorces his wife, starts a new church, remarries, and fathers a daughter who becomes Queen Elizabeth I.
Tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra: Antony tries to balance love and war but sacrifices everything for love.
Coriolanus: Rome’s best general feels slighted, so he switches sides.
Hamlet: A young prince plans revenge against his murdering uncle.
Julius Caesar: Brutus and others kill Caesar to prevent him from becoming king.
King Lear: Lear gives up his kingdom to his daughters and then gives up his mind.
Macbeth: Witches’ prophecies prompt Macbeth to seize the throne of Scotland.
Othello: Iago preys on Othello’s jealousy and drives him to murder.
Romeo and Juliet: Forbidden love tempts and destroys a young couple.
Timon of Athens: Overgenerous Timon learns who his true friends are when he runs out of money.
Titus Andronicus: Bloody revenge in ancient Rome, with the emphasis on bloody.