Philip Henslowe saw a new play entitled Harey Vj, but gives no further information. In August, Thomas Nashe published Piers Penniless his Supplication to the Devil, in which he refers to a play he had recently seen featuring a rousing depiction of Lord Talbot, a major character in 1 Henry VI. Most critics take Nashe's reference to Talbot as proof that the play Henslowe saw was 1 Henry VI.

According to the title page of the 1594 quarto, the play had been performed by Pembroke's Men, a company which ceased performing in September 1593. As such, the play must have been composed some time prior to September. Additionally, it is unlikely to have been written later than June 1592, as that was when the London theatres were closed due to an outbreak of plague.

Traditionally, the play has been dated quite early, and has often been seen as Shakespeare's first comedy, perhaps his first play. However, stylistic and linguistic analysis has placed it closer to the composition of Richard II and Romeo and Juliet, both of which were written in 1594 or 1595.

The play was obviously in existence by 1598, however, other evidence places its date of composition as earlier, probably 1596. Shakespeare's source for the casket subplot is believed to have been Richard Robinson's translation of the Gesta romanorum, which wasn't published until late 1595.

Textual evidence and certain topical allusions suggest the play was composed as a specially commissioned piece for a Garter Feast, possibly the Feast on 23 April 1597. It is theorised that Shakespeare interrupted his composition of 2 Henry IV somewhere around Act 3-Act 4, so as to concentrate on writing Merry Wives.

Because the versions of Hamlet which appeared in 1603, in 1604  and in the First Folio of 1623 differ so much from one another, dating the play is exceptionally difficult. There is also the problem of the Ur-Hamlet, a possible source used by Shakespeare, now lost. Others however, feel that Ur-Hamlet was most likely an early draft.

The play must have been written by late 1606. Additionally, scholars generally agree that the play is indebted to Samuel Harsnett's Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures and John Florio's 1603 translation of Montaigne's Essays., placing the date of composition as somewhere between March 1603 and December 1606. A further possible source for the play has evoked some disagreement however.