I have seen people say that one of the tragedies of âThe World Was Wide Enoughâ is that Hamilton and Burr both break with their naturesâBurr doesnât wait and Hamilton throws away his shot. This is perfectly, literally true, as well as excellent wordplay in the second instance, but Iâve been thinking that one of the really beautiful things about the musical is that itâs not completely true.
Hamilton throws away his (gun)shot, but thatâs neverâin his own mind or in the play itselfâbeen what the metaphorical shot really is, at least not consistently. âNot throwing away your shotâ is about not wasting your opportunities; itâs about making the deliberate choice. Hamilton throws away his more active military career when he signs on as Washingtonâs aide, but he views thisâat least in the momentâas seizing his shot, because Washington has persuaded him that itâs harder and more honorable to try to live. He and his men take the bullets out of their guns at Yorktown to better secure their victory.
And itâs not only Hamilton who wins by losing, or at least by forfeiting the showier and more conventional route to victory: itâs Washington, too. LMM is explicit about this in the notes on âOne Last Timeâ: that the song highlights Washingtonâs âmost radical act/lasting legacy,â which is his decision to walk away from power and not seek it again. He throws away the most obvious form of power, but he doesnât throw away his chance for meaningful action: he just redefines what meaningful action looks like. Even though Hamilton says it will make him look weak, Washington pushes through, because âthey will see weâre strong.â He turns down one shot for another: he teaches a country, and a succession of presidents, and Hamilton himself, to say goodbye.
And thatâs what Hamilton learns from him, and from Eliza, who choosesâconsciously and activelyâto forgive. He says, âIf I throw away my shot, is this how youâll remember me? What if this bullet is my legacy?â And it is, and he knows that, and he chooses this chance, this idea of meaningful action: to aim at the sky. To not kill, or even feign to kill, â[his] first friend, [his] enemy.â And we donât say heâs weak for that; we see heâs strong.
Because kindness, in Hamilton, is always deserving of our awe and respect. Hamiltonâs ânon-stopâ series of accomplishments is wonderful to behold, but the one thing weâre really asked if we can even imagine is Eliza offering him forgiveness. When Hamilton chooses to aim for the sky, he doesnât throw away his shot, he takes stock of everyone heâs loved, and everyone heâs lost, and everything heâs done, and seizes the opportunityâto be kind. To make peace.
And for us, at least, thatâs a substantial part of his legacy. So part of what makes Hamilton so awesome, for me, is that it recognizes that sometimes deliberately refraining from action is the most powerful action you can take, and it defines its characters by those active refusals, those conscious choices to not go after more. Hamilton throws away his shot, Eliza throws away her anger, Angelica throws away her chance, Washington throws away his reelection. Principle is sometimes most meaningfully expressed by where we draw the line and what we refuse to do, which is why Hamilton cannot back Burr after hearing that thereâs ânothing [he] wouldnât do.â
Hamilton never really gives up. As Burr says in âWait for It,â all he does is âchange the game.â
These things, too, are part of taking your shot: you take the opportunity to be better, smarter, kinder. Hey, sometimes you âtake the bullets out your gunâ and thatâs part of how you win the war.
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