What is the title of Shakespeare's first printed work?

Shakespeare’s first printed work was Venus and Adonis, published in 1593. It is a narrative poem about Venus’s passionate pursuit of the reluctant young hunter Adonis, whose preference for hunting ultimately leads to tragedy.

The poem appeared as a quarto pamphlet during a period when London theatres were closed because of plague. Shakespeare dedicated it to Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, calling it the “first heir of my invention.” Its publication established Shakespeare in print before any of his plays appeared in a printed edition.

Venus and Adonis contains 1,194 lines arranged in 199 six-line stanzas with an ABABCC rhyme scheme. The poem draws heavily on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, especially the story of Venus and Adonis, but Shakespeare expands the myth with erotic comedy, psychological detail, and vivid descriptions of animals and nature.

The Rape of Lucrece followed in 1594 and was also dedicated to Southampton. Shakespeare’s Sonnets were not published until 1609, which makes them a tempting but incorrect answer.