.jpeg)
Hamnet (2026)
Director: Chloè Zha
I was always under the impression, from what I had learned in my history lessons in secondary school, that Shakespeare moved among the aristocrats and mesmerised them with comedies, tragedies and historical gems that stood the test of time.
For the longest time, the world wondered whether the composer of the greatest English stories, plays, and dialogues of various genres was really a commoner from Stratford-upon-Avon. It must have taken a person of stature and exposure to the outside world to write extensively in high, fluent English on legal, philosophical, and historical subjects. For some time, the theory of a Baconian Shakespeare was the vogue. Sir Francis Bacon, a statesman of stature climbing the political ladder, would not find it appropriate to engage in such commercial endeavours. Hence, it seemed necessary to remain incognito and pen the plays under a pseudonym.
Today's researchers refute this theory and assert that William Shakespeare was a real person. There are patchy historical accounts of his life with Anne Hathaway, his family life, his children (Susanna and a pair of twins, Judith and Hamnet), and the possible loss of Hamnet to plague. Anne may also have been referred to as Agnes, and Hamnet as Hamlet. Agnes may have had some knowledge of herbs and falconry.
Another myth that floated around was that William and Agnes had a miserable marriage, living separate lives, with Agnes staying in Stratford while William was busy working in London. Even though there was an 8-year age difference between them (William 18, Agnes 26) and their marriage was a scandalous shotgun wedding, as Agnes was already three months pregnant and William was underage! William Shakespeare's home in Stratford-upon-Avon was the second biggest house in the neighbourhood.
Tragedy hit the family when Hamnet succumbed to plague. The movie, based on the historical fiction Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, is said to be historically accurate, with the missing parts filled in through intelligent guesswork.
The crux of the story is how the parents and the siblings cope with Hamnet's death. Melancholia hang in the Shakespeare household. Mom is suppressing her feelings and feels that her husband is not doing enough. She thinks William is more interested in his work than in the family. Meanwhile, William is suffering inside but has decided to put his grief into his work. 'Hamlet' is said to be a tribute to Hamnet.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
