The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare

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Richard III

Richard III
The action of Richard III directly follows that of Richard Duke of York (3 Henry VI), written in 1591, and so may date from later that year to the temporary closure of the London theatres in June 1592. However, if the Henry VI plays were not composed in historical order, as some scholars believe, and Shakespeare wrote 1 Henry VI after The First Part of the Contention (2 Henry VI) and Richard Duke of York but before Richard III, the latter was probably written after June 1592. Titus Andronicus, which shares features of neo-Senecan tragedy with Richard III and came before it, may also have been written after the Henry VI plays for performance outside London, which makes a date of 1592–3 for Richard III more likely. This time frame would explain the absence of any documentary evidence referring to the play before the plague closed the theatres, a silence that...

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