In Coriolanus , another tragedy taking place in antiquity, the legendary Roman hero Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus is portrayed as unable to bring himself either to woo the Roman masses or to crush them by force. Timon of Athens is a similarly bitter play about a character reduced to misanthropy by the ingratitude of his sycophants. The two comedies of this period also are dark in mood. These plays are sometimes called “problem plays” because they do not fit into clear categories or present easy resolution. All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure are both plays that question accepted patterns of morality without offering the comfort of solutions.
The fourth period of Shakespeare's work comprises his principal romantic tragicomedies. Toward the end of his career, Shakespeare created several plays that, through the intervention of magic, art, compassion or grace. The romantic tragicomedy Pericles, Prince of Tyre concerns the title character's painful loss of his wife and the persecution of his daughter. After many exotic adventures, Pericles is reunited with his loved ones. In Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale, characters suffer great loss and pain, but are reunited. Shakespeare's last complete play is The Tempest, in which the resolution suggests the beneficial effects of the union of wisdom and power. Two final plays are the products of collaboration. A historical drama, Henry VIII was probably written with the English dramatist John Fletcher, as was The Two Noble Kinsmen, a story of the love of two noble friends for one woman.