Yakki the Yakkicorn answers “Any thoughts on why Shakespeare is the...”

Robert Blumenthal asked this question about Hamnet:

Any thoughts on why Shakespeare is the only character never mentioned by name?

Yakki the Yakkicorn I interpreted it this way:

Everyone knows who William Shakespeare is by his deeds, not who he was as a person. The book's focus was on W. Shakespeare's…moreI interpreted it this way:

Everyone knows who William Shakespeare is by his deeds, not who he was as a person. The book's focus was on W. Shakespeare's wife, referred to as Agnes in the book. If W. Shakespeare's name was mentioned, the focus would be on him, as he is the better known person, undermining the book. But by never seeing his name, we aren't distracted by it.

Also, I'd like to reiterate that this book is mainly about Agnes. We see W. Shakespeare through her eyes: not the adoring fans, the English royalty, the actors who preformed his plays, but his wife. Agnes sees W. Shakespeare as her husband and the father of her children first, and the great playwright second. And as I have said, "the great playwright" comes with a whole set of memory cues: calligraphy on yellowed paper, dozens of plays, men (and later women) in tights and dresses, etc. By not seeing him portrayed as the great playwright first, we avoid those cues and get to see him as a real person with real attributes and flaws. In essence, we get to see his fictionalized character as a human, not a set of plays. (less)

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