(2) _Internal References._ In the course of the plays there occur passages, more or less obscure, that can be traced to contemporary events. Such are the references to “the imperial votaress” (perhaps Elizabeth) in _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, to “the two-fold balls and treble sceptres” (perhaps the Union of 1603) in _Macbeth_, and to a famous eclipse of the moon in the _Sonnets_. Owing to the invariable obscurity of the passages, this class of evidence should be used cautiously, but unfortunately it has been made the basis of much wild theorizing. (3) _The Literary Evidence._ Soberly examined, and taken strictly in conjunction with the statement of Meres and the dates of the Quartos (when these are available), this type of evidence is by far the most reliable. We can examine the workmanship of the plays, paying attention to the construction of the plots, the force and originality of the characters, the standard of style, the metrical dexterity--in short, the general level of competence. In a general survey of the dramas no great skill is necessary on the part of the reader to observe a distinct variation in craftsmanship. By grading the plays according to their literary development a certain rough approximation of date can be deduced. (_b_) THE DATES OF THE PLAYS. The following table, which to a large extent is the outcome of generations of discussion and contention, represents a moderate or average estimate of the dates of the plays. It can be only an approximate estimate, for no exact decision can ever be possible. 1590 1 _Henry VI_ 1591–2 2 _Henry VI_ 3 _Henry VI_ 1593 _Richard III_ _Edward III_ (in part) _The Comedy of Errors_ 1594 _Titus Andronicus_ _The Taming of the Shrew_ _Love’s Labour’s Lost_ _Romeo and Juliet_ 1595 _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_ _King John_ 1596 _Richard II_ _The Merchant of Venice_ 1597 1 _Henry IV_ 1598 2 _Henry IV_ _Much Ado about Nothing_ 1599 _Henry V_ _Julius Cæsar_ 1600 _The Merry Wives of Windsor_ _As You Like It_ 1601 _Hamlet_ _Twelfth Night_ 1602 _Troilus and Cressida_ _All’s Well that Ends Well_ 1603 (Theaters closed) 1604 _Measure for Measure_ _Othello_ 1605 _Macbeth_ _King Lear_ 1606 _Antony and Cleopatra_ _Coriolanus_ 1607 _Timon of Athens_ (unfinished) 1608 _Pericles_ (in part) 1609 _Cymbeline_ 1610 _The Winter’s Tale_ 1611 _The Tempest_ 1613 _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ (in part) _Henry VIII_ (in part) (_c_) CLASSIFICATION OF THE PLAYS. It is customary to group the plays into sets that to some extent traverse the order given above.