Short answers, pulled from the story.
Shakespeare's late romances include Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Cymbeline; The Winter's Tale; and The Tempest. Scholars sometimes add The Two Noble Kinsmen to this list noting that Shakespeare co-wrote it with John Fletcher.
These works were composed between approximately 1603 and 1614. Edward Dowden first applied the term romances to these specific plays in his 1877 book Shakspere before editors like John Heminges and Henry Condell listed them differently in the First Folio of 1623.
James I preferred romances after ascending to the throne in 1603 unlike Elizabeth I who had enjoyed watching tragedies. Shakespeare's company changed its name from the Lord Chamberlain's Men to the King's Men following this transition and performed up to two new plays per week during this period.
Directors face significant technical challenges when attempting to realize required magical and scenic elements such as storms at sea or opulent interior scenery. Samuel Phelps created a storm effect in 1854 using rowers manning oars while a panorama moved behind them and William Charles Macready featured a huge fully rigged sea vessel in 1842 at Covent Garden.
Scholars debate whether these plays reflect Shakespeare's psychological state, aging process, or simply a deliberate shift toward tragicomedy. Edward Dowden suggested Shakespeare suffered from depression when writing his tragedies before creating the romances while Harold Bloom stated that The Winter's Tale shows Shakespeare returning to full talent and genius with full force.