Hamnet

A written prologue situates Stratford in Renaissance England, where Hamnet and Hamlet are treated as two versions of a single name.

Agnes Hathaway, in a vivid red dress, strides through a forest and summons a hawk to land on her falconry glove. William, an earringed Latin tutor, leaves his pupils to visit her barn; they speak, then share a kiss, but she warns him to go and stay away. Whispers and gossip label her a forest witch’s daughter, though her mother taught her herbal lore, including the Old English Nine Herbs Charm, which Agnes later uses to heal a cut on his forehead. Her mother died young, and Agnes, in sorrow, was adopted.

Agnes spends long hours in the woods, drawn to a mysterious cave there. William returns and asks for a story; he recounts the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, which delights her. She holds his hand and envisions his future greatness, while also foretelling her own death with two children. The pair consummate their bond, and she becomes pregnant. Her parents banish her from the family home; William’s family is uneasy about their match, but they marry nonetheless. Agnes bears her first child, Susanna, in the woods, where William and her step-brother Bartholomew discover her and confirm that mother and child are well.

William’s father John, a practical businessman, calls his son worthless and tries to keep him from leaving a room where he toils; he strikes William twice, and the younger man finally pushes him against the wall, declaring he will not tolerate abuse again.

Agnes, now pregnant again, sees William’s frustrated attempts at writing and realizes he must go to London to immerse himself in the theater world there; he leaves Agnes and Susanna behind in Stratford. William’s mother Mary restrains Agnes from going to the woods to give birth. In due time, Agnes gives birth to [Hamnet], and then to a girl, Judith, who seems stillborn but is revived; Agnes notes that the child would not go to heaven since she lacks faith.

The twins grow close and full of mischief; they even fool William when he visits by dressing as one another. The children delight their parents by acting out the witches’ scene in Macbeth. Agnes predicts that Hamnet will flourish, and William’s career in the theater thrives; the family buys the largest house in Stratford. When Agnes’s bird dies, the family buries it in a forest ceremony, and she spins a tale of the bird carrying their wishes in its heart, with Hamnet agreeing that one can glimpse the bird’s spirit in the air. A song about a bird threads through the story.

In London, a puppet show about a plague crowds the streets, while back in Stratford Judith contracts the plague; Hamnet conjures the tale of the dead bird to comfort her. Later, he lies beside her and declares he would like to take her place. Judith recovers, but Hamnet grows steadily sicker; he envisions himself in an empty house, calling for his mother. Hamnet dies in agony, and William returns home to find his son dead.

Agnes is furious that William has returned to London so soon after Hamnet’s death; they clash, but eventually reconcile, and she realizes she can no longer predict the future.

Back in London, William rehearses Hamlet by the Thames, grappling with frustrated actors as he works to bring the words to life. Agnes and Bartholomew slip into the opening night of Hamlet; at first she fears the boy’s name is being profaned, but she gradually comes to see the play as a tribute to her son. William performs Hamlet’s father’s ghost and the scenes with Hamlet intrigue her. She feels pride at the sword-wielding motion that mirrors Hamnet’s dream. As Hamlet nears the edge of the stage and dies, Agnes reaches out to touch the actor’s hand, and the audience, swept up in the emotion, reach out as well. In that moment, she envisions Hamnet in the empty house, moving from sorrow to a quiet smile, stepping backstage and slipping away through a hole that resembles her forest cave. Agnes laughs softly, then smiles for the first time since Hamnet’s death.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:32