During this period, from 1596 to 1604, Shakespeare continued to write comedies, but they gradually began to take on darker tones and, in fact, were not pure comedy but tragi-comedy. The darkness of his writing also took expression in a series of his greatest tragedies such as Hamlet (1600–1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), Macbeth (1606), and Antony and Cleopatra (1606– 1607).
As Shakespeare's career came to an end, he began to write what are now called his romances. Harkening back to more traditional romance motifs of quests, magical events, and great lessons learned, these plays are concerned with questions of religion and show a recognition that it is a younger generation who will affect the future.
Shakespeare continued to write until 1613, but his works after the romances are often collaborations, reflecting his retirement from the fray. He'd earned the rest. In a career spanning three decades, William Shakespeare provided works that became the basis of the Western canon of literature and that resonate with meaning for audiences to this day.
