By 1592, when William was age 28, he had attained the title of a successful playwright. The Plague then came to London, and as a result, Lord Strange's Company was closed. It is believed that William visited Italy where he began writing plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Two Gentlemen of Verona and the Merchant of Venice. A few years later in 1594 he returned to London but by that time Lord Strange had passed on and the Company had been handed over to the Lord Chamberlain, Henry Carey.

In 1596 The Globe Theatre was built, partly owned by Shakespeare himself. Quite soon The Chamberlain's Men, as the company was now called, became quite popular. In this year his father was awarded a Coat of Arms and now William was known as a 'Gentleman' so he then returned to Stratford, to purchase a larger house, called New Place, for his family. Though this seemed a good year for Shakespeare, it was the year when his only son, Hamnet died.

In 1603 Queen Elizabeth died and James I, who enjoyed theatre, became ruler. He enjoyed Shakespeare's work and became a patron of Chamberlain's Men (who were at this time called the King's Men). The plague soon hit London again and the Company, rather than shutting down, toured England.