Hamnet pierces the boundary between real life and play | Bill ...

Bill Gates reviews “Hamnet” by Maggie O'Farrell. Login Signup Logout Myprofileandsettings Mybookmarks Commenthistory Pleasecompleteyouraccountverification. Resendverificationemail. today Thisverificationtokenhasexpired. today Youremailaddresshasbeenverified. Updatemyprofile. today Youraccounthasbeendeactivated. Signintore-activateyouraccount. today Viewallnewslettersinthe newsletterarchive today Youarenowunsubscribedfromreceivingemails. today Sorry,wewereunabletounsubscribeyouatthistime. today 0 0 Backtoprofile CommentItems Youhavenotleftanycommentsyet. title yourepliedtoacomment: name description View Comment SavedPosts Youhaven’tbookmarkedanypostsyet. Login Signup “It’spoetrydisguisedasanovel.” readreview BecomeaGatesNotesInsider Signup Logout Search Books Videos Inequalityandrace Epidemicpreparedness Podcast Photoessays Savinglives Climateandenergy Education Personal AboutBill Allposts PersonalInformation Title Mr Mrs Ms Miss Mx Dr Title Mr Mrs Ms Miss Mx Dr Cancel Save Thisemailisalreadyregistered Cancel Save Pleaseverifyemailaddress.Clickverificationlinksenttothisemailaddressorresendverificationemail. Cancel Save Address Cancel Save EmailandNotificationSettings SendmeupdatesfromBillGates Youmustprovideanemail On Off SendmeGatesNotessurveyemails On Off SendmetheweeklyTopofMindnewsletter On Off Emailmecommentnotifications On Off On-screencommentnotifications On Off Interests SelectintereststopersonalizeyourprofileandexperienceonGatesNotes. SavingLives EnergyInnovation ImprovingEducation Alzheimer's Philanthropy BookReviews AboutBillGates AccountDeactivation Clickthelinkbelowtobegintheaccountdeactivationprocess. Deactivateaccount IfyouwouldliketopermanentlydeleteyourGatesNotesaccountandremoveit’scontent,pleasesendusarequesthere. Tobeornottobe Hamnetpiercestheboundarybetweenreallifeandplay MaggieO’Farrell’snovelisabeautiful,well-writtenlookathowgrieftearsafamilyapart. ByBillGates| November22,2021 0 IfyouliveinthePacificNorthwest,youcan’tfindabetterplacetoseeaplaythantheOregonShakespeareFestival.I’vebeensixorseventimes,andI’malwaysblownawaybytheproductionstheyputon.Someoftheshowstakeplaceinthisgorgeousoutdoortheaterthat’sdecoratedlikeit’sfromtheElizabethanera.There’ssomethingspecialaboutseeingAMidsummerNight’sDreamorOthellounderthestars. ThefestivalhasmademeevenmoreofafanofShakespearethanIalreadywas.I’minaweofthetimelessnessandclevernessofhisplays.It’samazinghowvivid,clever,andpoignanthisworkremainscenturieslater. ButwhowasShakespearereally?Weknowshockinglylittleaboutthemanbehindtheplays,althoughtherehavebeenalotoffilmsandbooksspeculatingabouthispersonallife.(I’mparticularlyafanofShakespeareinLove.)MaggieO’Farrell’snovelHamnetisthelatest,andIthoughtitwasabeautiful,well-writtenlookathowgrieftearsafamilyapart. O’Farrellcentersherbookontwothingsthatweknowaretrue:Shakespeare’ssonHamnetdiedat11yearsold,andShakespearewroteatragedycalledHamletjustacoupleyearsafterhispassing.(ManyscholarsbelievethatthenamesHamnetandHamletwereinterchangeableinhisera.)SheexploresthedaysleadinguptoHamnet’sdeathandhypothesizesabouthowthateventmayhaveinfluencedthewritingofoneofthegreatestplaysofalltime. ThemostinterestingchoiceshemakesistofocusnotonShakespearehimselfbutonhisfamilyinstead.Thewords“William”and“Shakespeare”areneverused,andifyoudidn’tknowwhatthebookwasabout,Idon’tknowifyouwouldrecognizewho“thehusband”isuntiltheend.Youdevelopsympathyforhim,butit’sreallyhiswife,AgnesHathaway,andtheirthreechildrenwhoareatthecenterofthestory. Agnes(whommostpeopleprobablyknowasAnne)isafascinatingcharacter.She’sbeenpaintedbyhistoryasacalculatingwomanwhotrappedthemuchyoungerShakespeareintomarriagebygettingpregnant,butO’Farrellhasadifferenttakeonher.ThisAgnesisamysteriousandalmostsupernaturalfigurewhohasadeepconnectionwithnature.She’satalentedhealerwhocanseethefuture—sheknowsherfirstchildwillbeagirlandthatonlytwoofherchildrenwilllivetowatchherdie. MostofStratford-upon-Avonisafraidofher,butShakespeareisdrawntothethingsthatmakeherdifferentandfallsinlovewithher.WhentellinghissisteraboutAgnes,hesays,“Sheislikenooneyouhaveevermet...Shecanlookatapersonandseerightintotheirverysoul.Thereisnotadropofharshnessinher.Shewilltakeapersonforwhotheyare,notwhattheyarenotoroughttobe.” Whentwooftheirchildrenfallill—firsttheiryoungerdaughterJudith,andthenhertwinHamnet—Agnesisforcedtocareforthemonherown.ShakespeareisinLondonworkinginthetheater,andheonlyfindsoutthatthey’resickonceit’stoolate. NooneknowswhatkilledtherealHamnet.O’Farrellproposesthatitwasthebubonicplague,whichisplausibleforthatera.It’sinterestingtoreadabouttheplaguerightnow,becauseitwassuchadifferentkindofpandemicthanthecurrentone.Youwouldn’tseebigoutbreaksacrossentirecommunities.Itwouldseemtoshowuprandomlyinahousehold,whichiswhathappenstoAgnes’sfamily. YouknowfromthebeginningthatHamnet’sstoryisgoingtoendintragedy.It’satestamenttohowtalentedofawriterO’Farrellisthatyoucan’tbutbelieveitmightturnoutdifferentlyandthatAgnesmightsavehim.ItremindedmeabitoftheGeorgeSaundersnovelLincolnintheBardo.Bothbooksimaginehowhistoricalfigureswould’verespondedtothelossofachild,althoughBardoisalotmorefantastical.Sadly,thiswasn’tanuncommonsituation.Onlytwo-thirdsofchildrenlivedtoseetheirfifthbirthdaysinLincoln’stime,andtheoddsweremuchworseinShakespeare’sday.O’FarrellandSaunderscapturehowdevastatingandshockingitistoloseachild,eveninanerawhenitwassomewhatexpected. Hamnetisultimatelyastoryabouthowthedeathofasonhauntshisparents,whileHamletisataleabouthowthedeathofaparenthauntshisson.O’FarrellcleverlytiesthetwotogetherandoffersamovingexplanationforhowShakespearechanneledhisgriefandguiltintowriting.Shemakesmewanttogobackandre-readtheplay. Ifyou’refamiliarwithShakespeare’swriting,Ithinkyou’llenjoyHamnet.It’ssurprisinglyeasytoread,eventhoughthesubjectmatterisheavy.Iwoulddescribeitasemotionalratherthandepressing.Attheendofthebook,Agnessaysshewishesshecould“piercetheboundarybetweenaudienceandplayers,betweenreallifeandplay.”O’Farrellhasdonearemarkablejobcrossingthatlineandimagininghowreallifemayhaveinfluencedoneofhistory’sgreatestplays. Readthisnext NEXT Discussion ThankyouforbeingpartoftheGatesNotesInsidercommunity. Notseeingyourcomment?YoucanreadourpolicyonmoderatingcommentshereandlearnaboutourGatesNotesbadgeshere. Badge 📌 Pinnedby GatesNotes Badge Reply Edit Flagasnotconstructive Addcomment ʼʼ Cancel Post Pleaseloginorsignuptocomment Cancel Post Pleaseloginorsignuptocomment 16responses Sortby all most top old all all most top old Commentsloading... 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