Was William Shakespeare a good father?

William Shakespeare had three children - Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. Of those children, his son died at age 11 and little has been said about or written by Susanna and therefore the extent to which William Shakespeare fulfilled expectations is difficult to evaluate fully.

There is however a body of historical and contemporary work suggesting Shakespeare may had difficulties in fulfilling responsibilities towards both his family and those he worked as well as lived and interacted with in England.

The historical evidence in relation to his interactions are complex, but the lack of material available for his children as well as Shakespeare’s absence for his families life suggest there is more work required in this area of his life before this questions is concluded as definitively.