a certain Katherine Hamlet was drowned in the Avon a mile from Stratford in December 1579, when Shakespeare was fifteen years old; incidentally a relative of his, also called William Shakespeare, had been drowned in the same river six months before. As is well known, Shakespeare in 1585 christened his only son Hamnet, a frequent variant of the name; the boy died in 1596. For all these reasons it is plain that the plot of the tragedy must have been present in Shakespeare’s mind for many years before it actually took form as a new composition. W hen exactly this happened is a matter of some uncertainty and considerable bearing.