Shakespeare’s late life is what many people today would consider mid-life. This is due to that the fact that Shakespeare only lived to 52 since the expected life span back then was much shorter than it is now. It was in Shakespeare’s later life when he wrote his pieces such as King Lear, Othello and more famous ones such as Hamlet and Macbeth. These plays explored much darker areas filled with betrayal, incest and endings that are not happy. Shakespeare retired in 1611 shortly after writing several tragedies such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. However, soon after his retirement he got into legal controversy over the enclosure of some common land. The land was being converted into sheep pasture but he had financial interest in the land. In the end he made sure his income from the land was protected. In Shakespeare’s last few weeks he had issues regarding the man whom his daughter was to marry. Shakespeare died in 1616 at 51 years of age.