▁plays ▁ ▁History ▁is ▁one ▁of ▁the ▁three ▁main ▁gen res ▁in ▁Western ▁theatre ▁alongside ▁tra ged y ▁and ▁comedy , ▁although ▁it ▁origin ated , ▁in ▁its ▁modern ▁form , ▁thousands ▁of ▁years ▁later ▁than ▁the ▁other ▁primary ▁gen res . ▁For ▁this ▁reason , ▁it ▁is ▁often ▁treated ▁as ▁a ▁subset ▁of ▁tra ged y . ▁ ▁A ▁play ▁in ▁this ▁genre ▁is ▁known ▁as ▁a ▁history ▁play ▁and ▁is ▁based ▁on ▁a ▁historical ▁narr ative , ▁often ▁set ▁in ▁the ▁medieval ▁or ▁early ▁modern ▁past . ▁History ▁emer ged ▁as ▁a ▁distinct ▁genre ▁from ▁tra ged y ▁in ▁Renaissance ▁England . ▁The ▁best ▁known ▁examples ▁of ▁the ▁genre ▁are ▁the ▁history ▁plays ▁written ▁by ▁William ▁Shakespeare , ▁whose ▁plays ▁still ▁serve ▁to ▁define ▁the ▁genre . ▁Shakespeare ▁wrote ▁numerous ▁history ▁plays , ▁some ▁included ▁in ▁the ▁First ▁Fol io ▁as ▁histor ies , ▁and ▁other ▁listed ▁as ▁tra ged ies , ▁or ▁Roman ▁plays . ▁Among ▁the ▁most ▁famous ▁histor ies ▁are ▁Richard ▁III , ▁and ▁Henry ▁IV , ▁Part ▁ 1 , ▁Henry ▁IV , ▁Part ▁ 2 , ▁and ▁Henry ▁V . ▁Other ▁plays ▁that ▁feature ▁historical ▁characters , ▁are ▁the ▁tra ged y ▁Mac b eth , ▁set ▁in ▁the ▁mid - 1 1 th ▁century ▁during ▁the ▁reign s ▁of ▁Dun can ▁I ▁of ▁Scotland ▁and ▁Edward ▁the ▁Conf essor , ▁and ▁the ▁Roman ▁plays ▁Cor i ol anus , ▁Julius ▁Ca esar , ▁and ▁Anton y ▁and ▁Cle op atra . ▁Another ▁tra ged y