Courtesy of Focus Features

Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers about events related to the movie Hamnet .

Hamnet examines the unlikely love story of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, along with the intense grief they face after the death of their titular son.

Like the 2020 Maggie O’Farrell novel that inspired it, the movie blends documented elements of Shakespeare’s family life with fictional events to illustrate the hazards of 16th century England. But with so little information confirmed about the real figures— Hamnet especially —it might be difficult to pinpoint how much of the story is true.

Here are the answers to some of your biggest questions about the main characters from the Oscar-contending drama.

Part of Biography.com’s special coverage of Hamnet ,

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