Hamnet’s Most Annoying Quirk Is Also Its Most Meaningful Idea

The story’s main character is usually called “the Husband,” but it’s clear Agnes has married a young William Shakespeare. This connection is central to the plot, exploring how the death of their son, Hamnet, might have inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet a few years later. The novel deliberately avoids naming him to keep the focus on Agnes’s perspective and to portray him as a person, not just the famous playwright.

