Point of View

The novel Hamnet’s point of view is third person omniscient and relies on a multitude of perspectives to convey one family’s tumultuous history. Even the least significant characters have occasional features, such as the maid, but the majority of the novel focuses on the perspectives of Hamnet and his mother, Agnes. O’Farrell’s choice to illuminate Agnes’s perspective more prominently than the father’s creates a unique experience for the reader, building a fictional biography of a famous historical figure through the eyes of his lesser-known family members.

Agnes is not the only woman in the novel, but her combined roles of daughter, sister, wife, and mother centralize her experiences as they relate to other characters. Though Agnes’s perspective provides unique insights, such as the truth behind the wild rumors about her witchlike habits, she is not entirely reliable due...