The year 1600 represents the beginning of a new phase in Shakespeare's compositions with the printing of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will followed a year later and marked a move toward darker comedies with complex plots and characters who are often cruel rather than comic.
With Troilus and Cressida in 1601–02, Shakespeare turns to Greek antiquity and the Iliad for inspiration, although as usual, Shakespeare rewrites the story to suit his needs.
Measure for Measure is another of Shakespeare's dark comedies, not published until 1623 but first performed in 1604.
During the same period (1603–04), Shakespeare was also writing The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice and All's Well that Ends Well, a complex comedy that raises questions about accepted gender roles.
With The Life of Timons of Athens, Shakespeare again turns to history, but this play, as with several others, was first published in the 1623 Folio.
