What is it about?
Hamnet, twin of Judith, was the only son of William Shakespeare, who died at the tender age of 11. Chakrabarti's play is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Maggie O'Farrell. The focus of the play is on Hamnet, his death, and how his death affects the long-distance marriage of Will and his wife, here called "Agnes."
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Why is it important?
Chakrabarti's play is just the latest in a series of works that celebrate the life of young Hamnet. I am writing a "biography" of Hamnet that includes a history of such cultural references, among which are Imogen Clark's Will Shakespeare's Little Lad, Dead Centre's Hamnet, and the BBC's Upstart Crow.
Perspectives
Every time I write about Hamnet, I am careful to distinguish the name of Shakespeare's son from Hamlet, the protagonist of the eponymous play. But the associations go deeper than just a name, and I also try to demonstrate that by referencing Saxo Grammaticus' Amleth and the relationship of the poet to his neighbor in Stratford, Hamnet Sadler.
Associate Profess of English Alan Hickman
American University in Dubai
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Performance review: Hamnet by Lolita Chakrabarti, Cahiers Élisabéthains A Journal of English Renaissance Studies, April 2024, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/01847678241240373w.
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