When did shakespeare write the following plays Romeo and Juliet Julius Caesar Macbeth and Hamlet?

Answer 1

The chronology of Shakespeare's plays is not entirely guesswork. Where a play is published or known to have been performed, we know that it was written before that date. If a play seems to refer to a historical event or matter of topical interest, we know that it was written after that event. Also, a man called Francis Meres wrote a (nearly) complete list of Shakespeare's plays in 1598--plays he didn't mention probably came later.

Romeo and Juliet was first published in 1597, so was written before that. Scholars think about 1595 or 1596.

Julius Caesar was one of the first plays performed at the Globe Theatre. A man called Thomas Platter saw it in September 1599 but it is not on Meres's list. Probably written in 1599 then.

Macbeth appears to refer to the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605. It was first known to be performed in 1611 when a man called Simon Forman went to see it but was probably written when the Gunpowder Plot was still news, around 1606.

Hamlet was first published in 1603 and was registered for publication in 1602. The reference to child acting companies seems to be topical for events in 1601, which is a likely date for its composition.