The Shakespearean era was one of tragedy and rebirth. During the time of Shakespeare's writing debut an overpowering plague swept through London.
While Shakespeare was living in London, he survived four major visitations of the plague. In the years of the plague, Shakespeare switched from writing about tragedies to writing comedies. Some of his works were Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well, which was sarcastically, a celebration of new life. Hard to believe, but the plague drove Shakespeare to continue writing for the stage. It may have been significant that during these times the plague closed the theatres for several months. Such works written during these time were his narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and the Rape of Lucrece, which were written in 1593 and 1594.
Other than the plague of the sixteenth century the monarchy of London's judicial system, which was one of a kind, also had its downfalls.