Stage Pages
Reading list · 22 plays

Plays About Love and Courtship

Romantic love — its arrival, its mistakes, its recoveries, and its formal contractual completion in marriage — is the engine of comedy and the spoiler of tragedy in equal measure.

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  1. Love's Labour's Lost

    by William Shakespeare · 1616 · Verse Drama

    A defining work of Renaissance & Elizabethan, Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare (first published 1616) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  2. A Midsummer Night's Dream

    by William Shakespeare · 1616 · Drama

    William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (first published 1616) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  3. Much Ado about Nothing

    by William Shakespeare · 1616 · Verse Drama

    Much Ado about Nothing (first published 1616) is a stage play by William Shakespeare, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  4. The Love-chase

    by James Sheridan Knowles · 1862 · Drama

    The Love-chase (first published 1862) is a stage play by James Sheridan Knowles, a touchstone of the Romantic Drama repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  5. Arms and the Man

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  6. Cynthia's Revels; Or, The Fountain of Self-Love

    by Ben Jonson · 1637 · Verse Drama

    Cynthia's Revels; Or, The Fountain of Self-Love (first published 1637) is a stage play by Ben Jonson, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  7. The Love-Tiff

    by Molière · 1673 · Comedy

    The Love-Tiff (first published 1673) is a stage play by Molière, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  8. Love and Intrigue: A Tragedy

    by Friedrich Schiller · 1805 · Tragedy

    A defining work of Restoration & Neoclassical, Love and Intrigue: A Tragedy by Friedrich Schiller (first published 1805) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  9. The Magnificent Lovers (Les Amants magnifiques)

    by Molière · 1673 · Comedy

    The Magnificent Lovers (Les Amants magnifiques) (first published 1673) is a stage play by Molière, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  10. The Romancers: A Comedy in Three Acts

    by Edmond Rostand · 1918 · Comedy

    The Romancers: A Comedy in Three Acts (first published 1918) is a stage play by Edmond Rostand, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  11. Love's Comedy

    by Henrik Ibsen · 1906 · Comedy

    Love's Comedy (first published 1906) is a stage play by Henrik Ibsen, a touchstone of the Romantic Drama repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  12. For Love of the King: A Burmese Masque

    by Oscar Wilde · 1900 · One-Act Play

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, For Love of the King: A Burmese Masque by Oscar Wilde (first published 1900) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold…

  13. The Rivals: A Comedy

    by Richard Brinsley Sheridan · 1816 · Comedy

    Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (first published 1816), The Rivals: A Comedy stands as one of the durable works of Restoration & Neoclassical, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  14. Quality Street: A Comedy

    by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie · 1937 · Comedy

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Quality Street: A Comedy by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie (first published 1937) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  15. Love for Love: A Comedy

    by William Congreve · 1729 · Comedy

    A defining work of Restoration & Neoclassical, Love for Love: A Comedy by William Congreve (first published 1729) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  16. All for Love; Or, The World Well Lost: A Tragedy

    by John Dryden · 1700 · Tragedy

    Written by John Dryden (first published 1700), All for Love; Or, The World Well Lost: A Tragedy stands as one of the durable works of Renaissance & Elizabethan, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous…

  17. The Lady of Lyons; Or, Love and Pride

    by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton · 1873 · Drama

    Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton's The Lady of Lyons; Or, Love and Pride (first published 1873) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight…

  18. A Bit O' Love

    by John Galsworthy · 1933 · Drama

    Written by John Galsworthy (first published 1933), A Bit O' Love stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  19. Lovers' Vows

    by August von Kotzebue · 1819 · Drama

    August von Kotzebue's Lovers' Vows (first published 1819) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  20. The Follies of Love

    by Jean-François Regnard · 1709 · Drama

    The Follies of Love (first published 1709) is a stage play by Jean-François Regnard, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  21. Philaster; Or, Love Lies a Bleeding

    by Francis Beaumont · 1616 · Verse Drama

    Francis Beaumont's Philaster; Or, Love Lies a Bleeding (first published 1616) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  22. The Two Lovers of Heaven: Chrysanthus and Daria A Drama of Early Christian Rome

    by Pedro Calderón de la Barca · 1681 · Verse Drama

    Pedro Calderón de la Barca's The Two Lovers of Heaven: Chrysanthus and Daria A Drama of Early Christian Rome (first published 1681) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real…

How this list was put together

The selections above were drawn from the full Stage Pages archive of 520 public-domain stage plays. Where ranking is implied by the order, that ranking is editorial — defensible, but not unanimous. Where the list is alphabetical or chronological, we say so.

If you have a candidate we missed, the whole library is one click away from the main scripts index; we add titles to lists as the catalogue grows.