Hamnet

Hamnet follows William Shakespeare's home life before he was famous, seen through the eyes of his wife, Agnes. The film opens by noting that in Stratford at the time, Hamnet and Hamlet were treated as the same name.

William is a young tutor giving lessons to pay off his family's debts. Agnes lives on the edge of town: she knows her herbs, keeps a hawk and is whispered about as a witch's daughter. They meet when she calls the bird back to her arm, and the pull between them is instant.

The romance ends in a pregnancy, and Agnes's family cuts her off. They marry in a hurry, and their first daughter, Susanna, arrives soon after. Then come the twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the house gets crowded.

While Agnes holds the family together, William feels boxed in. The words won't come, Stratford feels small, and London, with its playhouses, starts calling. Agnes sees before he does that her husband has to go.