Why is The Tempest viewed as Shakespeare’s farewell to the theater?

Whether or not The Tempest can be construed as Shakespeare's farewell to the stage is a matter of considerable dispute. However, both in chronological and thematic terms, the play could indeed be interpreted in such a light. For one thing, The Tempest is generally accepted as being the last full play that Shakespeare ever wrote by himself; he subsequently collaborated on two further plays before his death. Thematically speaking, it is noteworthy that the play consists of a magician giving up the practice of his art. Much scholarly attention has been focused on the highly suggestive words spoken by Prospero in act 4, scene 1:

And like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself—Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve, And like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. [Emphasis added].

Some have suggested that Shakespeare could be referring here to the Globe Theatre, built by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Just as Prospero is turning his back on the things of this world, so the argument runs, so too is Shakespeare preparing himself to say farewell to the profession in which he has excelled for so long.