There is a period in Shakespeare's life of some seven years (1585 to 1592), covering Shakespeare's daily activities after he left school and before he re-emerged as a professional actor from which we have absolutely no primary source materials about him.

For seven years, William Shakespeare effectively disappears from all records, turning up in London circa 1592 This has sparked as much controversy about Shakespeare's life as any period. There are various traditions and stories about the so-called 'lost years'.

Suggestions that Rowe notes that young Shakespeare was quite fond of poaching, and may have had to flee Stratford after an incident with Sir Thomas Lucy, whose lands he allegedly hunted. Tough considered highly unlikely, alternative suggestions include that he may have worked as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire for a time, as a lawyer or glover with his father and brother, Gilbert, are all plausible. So too is the argument that Shakespeare studied intensely to become a master at his literary craft, and honed his acting skills while travelling and visiting playhouses outside of Stratford.

Shakespeare's name appears with his parents' names in a Stratford lawsuit in 1588. But he may not have been living in Stratford at that time. Scholars believe that sometime during the lost years Shakespeare moved to London and served a period of apprenticeship in the city's busy theatrical life

It is estimated that Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and began to establish himself as an actor and playwright

But, it is from this period known as the "lost years" that we obtain a vital piece of information about Shakespeare: he married a pregnant orphan named Anne Hathaway.