The lost years 1586-1592 There is no documentary record of Shakespeare's activities from the birth of the twins, in 1585 until Robert Greene's complaint about him as an "upstart crow" in 1592. Biographers have therefore called these the lost years. In fact, there is nothing certain known about him from his birth in 1564 until 1592 except that he was married in 1582, fathered Susanna in 1583 and the twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585, and probably attended Stratford Grammar School. The …showed first 75 words of 6126 total…

…showed last 75 words of 6126 total…magic, expressed Shakespeare's own farewell to the stage: ...I'll break my staff Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book. V,i,54-57 Whether this was Shakespeare's intention in writing the play is an open question. The Tempest was not the last play on which he worked, but the nature of his work had clearly changed, and The Tempest is certainly his last great play.