Maggie O'Farrell's «Hamnet»: an Imaginative Critical-Biographical Interpretation of William Shakespeare's «Hamlet»
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Abstract
The aim of this essay is to contribute to the understanding of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet (1603) by means of a critical reconsideration of biographical episodes such as the functional gap the playwright left in his family. To this end, two texts will be examined, Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet (2020) and Shakespeare’s Hamlet itself, reading the former as an imaginative critical-biographical interpretation of the latter. The focus will be on Shakespeare’s domestic life, particularly on the figure of his son Hamnet and the relationship he had with his father, as depicted in O’Farrell’s work. Using the dramatic text as primary textual source, a thorough comparative interpretation of both literary pieces will be carried out. The analysis of key passages of the novel will lend support to the hypothesis that Hamnet can be considered as a critical-biographical interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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