#hamilton analysis

[kookiezookey]

Hamilton Musical Prop Facts

When the Hamilfilm came out, Hamilton Prop Master Jay Duckwoth shared these facts on his Instagram!

I recently found these & they're super cool (and needs to be appreciated more) so I wanted to share them here too!

Source: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

[yurialexanderhamilton]

So initially I sent this to oddyseye inbox but now I actually want to post it here cause why not? Anyway

How Hamilton and Burr change roles

Alexander Hamilton starts his relationship with Aaron Burr, as an admirer, he admires him and looks up to him as a goal. And he is essentially so excited to talk to him.

Aaron gives him the advice "Talk less. Smile More" which he thinks it's stupid and even calls him out for it.

Then we have "My shot" which is basically Alexander's want song, he makes it very clear that he's willing to take any opportunity that shows itself to him. → like in "Right Hand Man" --which really, that is where Aaron starts to hate him, since in his eyes Alexander stole his opportunity BUT THAT OPPORTUNITY WASN'T EVEN HIS TO BEGINN WITH. He walks in and starts talking about his successful moments, (and honestly the way he does it it just screams arrogance but maybe that's just me...) and then Alexander comes in, without any intention just knowing that Washington wanted to see him, and the moment Alexander is in sight Washington kicks Burr out basically right away.

Alexander has no expectations for what is about to happen he even asks if he's done something wrong -- and then Washington offers him the opportunity to be his right hand man. He doesn't throw away his shot and accepts

Alexander doesn't see that he's taking away Burr's so he really just thinks everything between them is fine.

In "Story of tonight (reprise)" It's his turn to give Burr an advice and that advice is to go for what he wants. → but then Burr has his own song which is "Wait for it"

NOW NOW this is where the roles are starting to slowly swap: Aaron looks up at Alexander and wishes to do what he does

Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb // He has something to prove // He has nothing to lose // Hamilton's pace is relentless // He wastes no time // What is it like in his shoes? // Hamilton doesn't hesitate // He exhibits no restraint // He takes and he takes and he takes // And he keeps winning anyway // He changes the game // He plays and he raises the stakes

THIS IS ADMIRATION, THAT IS SLOWLY TURNING INTO JEALOUSY.

So now from "Aaron Burr, Sir" where Alexander admires him, gets an advice from him, but he refuses it because he has his own agenda → Aaron looks up at Alexander, Alexander gives him an advice and he refuses it because he has his own agenda "I'm willing to wait for it"

OH OH WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED.

"TEN DUEL COMMANDMANTS"  (off topic but it's one of my favorite songs)

"Alexander"

"Aaron Burr, sir"

"Can we agree that duels are dumb and immature?"  

THIS THIS RIGHT HERE IS A VERY VERY GOOD EXEMPLE  BECAUSE AARON IS THE ONE WHO INITIATES THE DUEL IN ACT 2

From "Sure but your man has to answer for his words Burr"

"With his life? We both know that's absurd"  To "Answer at the accusations I lay at your feet or prepare to bleed."

→ Here Aaron is the one who basically stole Alexander's line just put it in more petty and angry words lol

Another good example is "The room where it happens"

Alexander literally tells him he's going to listen to his advice.

A little fast forward the deal is made and Aaron is shocked about how that happened and is calling Alexander out for it

"You got more than you gave."

"And I wanted what I got" → here? Alexander doesn't need to take any opportunity anymore because he's already where he wants to be, he got exactly what he wanted. Meanwhile Burr is forced to watch him grow because he's too insecure and yes insecure because he had an opportunity to stand up --- Alexander offered him a place next to him, and write the federalists papers ANONYMOUSLY.  No one would have known it was Burr who wrote but this motherfucker was just anxious and insecure. (ngl relatable, because while this can be criticized, it's also very human and very easily for someone to resonate-- which is why the way Lin wrote Aaron is peak without any doubt)

"The room where it happens" is really the moment where Burr realizes he has to do what Hamilton does which is take any opportunity that shows itself.

In room where it happens we see him actually walk like Hamilton, Burr who used to walk in straight lines, back straight, diplomatic, now? He's walking in circles standing on tables just like Hamilton did in "My shot"

He goes from "No one else was in the room where it happened" to " I wanna be in the room where it happens" and guess who helps him get there (to that conclusion) ? Hamilton. -- "You get nothing if you wait for it" "What do you want Burr, if you stand for nothing what do you fall for?"

Now their roles swap is almost complete

Almost.

Because then there's "Schuyler Defeated" WHERE BURR SAYS "I changed parties to sieze the opportunity I saw" WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAMILTON USED TO DO  BUT AND THIS IS A BIG BIG BUT -- Hamilton didn't change views or parties to get what he wanted he stayed true to his own beliefs. Burr? He changes them to fit where he wants to.

"Since when are you a democratic republican?"

"Since being one put me on the up and up again"  → Burr doesn't even hide it. He doesn't care about the belief itself he cares about being "in the room"

Now? Their role swap is complete.

Aaron became act one Alexander

Alexander became act one Aaron.

And that is why Alexander says Aaron has no beliefs. He just cared to be "in the room"

"I'm chasing what I want and I learned that from you" HE HAD NO ACTUAL WANT FOR BEING PRESIDENT OTHER THAN BEING ON A HIGH POLITICAL STATUS.

HE SAYS IT IN "OBIDIENT SERVENT" → "You kept me from the room where it happens" BECAUSE HE NEVER CARED ABOUT ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING FOR THE COUNTRY. HE CARED ABOUT BEING WHERE HE WANTED TO BE.

I rest my case.

PS: @oddyseye if you see this please yap with me I absolutely adore you 💜

[hamilton-and-adam]

HAMILTON ANALYSIS

I really strongly think that Lin Manuel Miranda had a Christian mindset while writing Hamilton. I think that Burr represents the devil, someone who can't refrain from sin, dragging the others down with him...

First of all, Burr is the first person in America that meets Hamilton and he immediately wants him to stop chasing his dreams. This is an anti-Catholic notion that is trying to prevent Hamilton from reaching salvation by giving charity and by improving the world, thus not allowing him to find the church to forgive his original sin.

Also, Burr embodies what God says should be avoided. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says: "For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." Burr loves himself more than others, saying that he is the one thing he can control and not seeking to improve the lives of any others. He never donates to charity in the musical, but he is rich, hence loving of money. As a child he ran away from his uncle which is disobedient to his parents. He is arrogant and abusive when he believes he will win the presidency and then shoots hamilton. He is ungrateful to the people who brought him to the place he is in (his father who is a preacher and his mother who is a genius). He is a lover of pleasure when he goes to Europe. Burr is clearly the anti-christ. He was also never punished for his crimes.

Burr continuously tries to suppress Hamilton's Godly nature by discouraging him, up until the point that he tempts him to sin. He tempts Hamilton by provoking him with letters threatening him to a duel, which would have Hamilton commit a mortal sin: Murder. But then, if Hamilton were to go to the duel knowing that he would remain Godly, he would have to be throwing away his life -- thus committing another mortal sin of suicide. He would not have the chance to repent from that sin and would be brought to Hell by the temptation of Aaron Burr, the devil's agent.

We do not know if Hamilton goes to heaven. Lin Manuel Miranda would rather us interpret his writings in our own way. Perhaps he prayed beforehand or he prayed on his deathbed and was forgiven by God. It is my opinion that he went to heaven because he prayed on his deathbed. Also, because Elizabeth sees him at the very end of the musical. But maybe she went to Hell too, that is a post for another time.

I hope you enjoyed my Hamilton analysis.

[rosetta-draws]

angelica's three fundamental truths

disclaimer: this is my first hamilton analysis, pls give me grace as i figure out how this works. all of this is my own opinion, so if u disagree or don't understand smth PLS TELL ME!! id love to discuss or debate :∙D

1. "I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich. my father has no sons, so I'm the one who has to social climb for one. so I'm the oldest and the wittiest, and the gossip in nyc is insidious. and alexander is penniless... that doesn't mean I want him any less."

angelica always has her weight of her family name hanging over her head (much like burr). it's not as if she can't handle this responsibility; she is a genius and has good control over herself.

alexander, however, almost makes her forget her duties and loosen her manner (I say almost cuz "what the hell is the catch" & "you forget yourself" show that it was still in the back of her mind). this isn't just because shes attracted to him; alexander is also a mirror for her, a what-if. angelica is a genius on par with hamilton, but is restricted by being a woman and by her status as a schuyler. alexander is hindered by neither of these (as much as he'd love to have the latter), so he functions as the idea of freedom for her. later on (in "take a break"), it seems as if she lives vicariously through him, cuz he's got everything she wants; to stay in new york, to stay with her sisters, to write for freedom and build the new country. i imagine that if she wasn't into hamilton, she'd be jealous of him instead.

2. "he's after me cuz I'm a schuyler sister, that elevates his status. I'd have to be naive to set that aside, maybe that is why I introduce him to eliza, now that's his bride. nice going, angelica, he was right: you will never be satisfied."

while being a schuyler opens many opportunities for angelica, it also means she has to be wary of her suitors' ulterior motives. more important in these lines is angelica's indirect description of eliza compared to herself. angelica knows that she herself is smart and quick witted, and that she fits the skills needed to be an heiress. eliza does not. angelica doesn't call her naive as an insult; it doesn't really seem to occur to her that it is an insult at all. she states it as fact that eliza won't care that alexander might be after her just for her wealth (and she is correct).

(also noteworthy is that angelica doesn't stop loving alex despite that possibility either. maybe the draw of meeting her equal is enough?? even tho she suspects him to be a cheater and gold digger??

...I don't know what they both see in him =_=)

3. "I know my sister like I know my own mind. You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind. if I tell her that I love him, she'd be silently resigned. he'd be mine. she would say I'm fine; she'd be lying."

and finally the key difference between angelica and hamilton: family. more specifically, caring for someone else more than for yourself. angelica has her own aspirations and desires but they will always be secondary to her family, both abstractly, as she preserves her family's legacy, and practically, as she chooses eliza's happiness over her own.

hamilton does not have that kind of bond with anyone. for all that he can be caring and protective of his people and his nation, he will always put himself first. it's not surprising, considering how he grew up, but it still ends up being his undoing.

(also of note here is this description of eliza. specifically that she stays "silently resigned" & lies to cover her feelings when she's upset. perhaps this is what eliza usually does for angelica, but for hamilton she makes no secret of her feelings. to be fair, even eliza herself constantly understates her agency and willpower (see: the entirety of "helpless"). however, when eliza knows what she wants she does not hesitate to get it. I have a few more thoughts about her having an easier life because of angelica's sacrifices, as well as angelica misunderstanding her, but that's for a separate post.)

bonus: "but when I fantasize at night it's alexander's eyes, as I romanticise what might have been if I hadn't sized him up so quickly. At least my dear eliza's his wife... at least I keep his eyes in my life."

earlier angelica applauds her intelligence and perceptiveness, but here she curses it. ignorance is bliss, and if she wasn't so attentive to her family's needs, she could follow her own ventures. but!! don't forget that though she doesn't act on her ambitions, they are always there. she doesn't stop dreaming of alexander, or stop missing her sisters and her city.

tldr: angelica is a disciplined, genius woman of high social standing, and is critically aware of this. she constantly has the weight of supporting her family on her mind, and is devoted to them. hamilton represents her more self-centered desires, and though she doesn't pursue him, she never stops wanting him, and likewise she never fully forgets her personal ambitions despite choosing not to achieve them. in part because of the society she lives in, and in part because of eliza's infatuation with hamilton (aka prioritizing her family's happiness over her own), angelica will never get everything she wants. again, she knows this, and resigns herself to never being satisfied.

[blooberri-rabbiteye]

I was watching a proshot clip of Ten Duel Commandments to take note of the choreography, and I noticed that Eliza is up on the second floor in the back.

My first assumption for why was her presence is symbolic of what’s on the line for Hamilton. He is, after all, circumventing Washington’s orders not to engage Lee for his criticism by acting as Laurens’ second. There’s still a risk in his participation. BUT, I then noticed Hercules—who left for home the song before—also up there with her, and that got me reinterpreting the situation. Maybe due to their shared civilian status during the war, they are both part of the ensemble by default (at least for this song). By being placed there instead another ensemble cast member, they are somehow… supporting those involved? I can theorize how they end up there, but why is a bit difficult for me to figure out right now.

[consistentscreaming]

okay so we are all familiar with the cover of Hamilton, right?

He's standing there with one arm raised, pointing towards the sky

and at first look, it's a power stance, he's defiant, he's confident

but if you think about it just a little bit more than that

at the end of the musical, at the end of his life,

when he is dueling burr,

where did hamilton point his gun?

he pointed it at the sky.

the cover pose is not a power stance.

[librarian-of-orynth]

Just a bit about Hamilton

Listening to Hamilton is one thing. Watching it is another entirely. 

Let’s talk about what we get from the music. Sure, most of the story is told, but we (at least, I) assumed that a majority of the time, each character was telling their own story. It was all a general perspective. Without any visual cues, we only saw part of the story, part of the magic of Hamilton. 

Yesterday, as I watched the production, I found myself tearing up for a majority of the show. Hamilton is a work of art. And yes, of course I recognize the criticisms of the show and they are valid, but I also find the commentary of the show itself fascinating. Lin-Manuel Miranda created a masterpiece, and watching it for the first time yesterday, I could truly see that. 

Now onto Aaron Burr. As high schoolers, most of us knew him as the guy who killed Hamilton in a duel. Emphasis on the duel. I distinctly remember talking about the duel in my A.P. US history class far more than the man behind the gun. 

Hamilton changes this.

The show opens with Burr directly addressing the audience, asking them a rhetorical question they’ll eventually have answered mere minutes later. This sets him up as the narrator; it’s his lens we’re seeing the story through. Listening to the soundtrack, I didn’t realize this. It took watching the story, watching the times Burr watches the story around him, even interacting with others as if he knows how the conversation is going to go already. 

As the show continues, it becomes more obvious that Burr is the one telling the story of Alexander Hamilton’s legacy. This is especially clear at the end, when he’s telling the audience to “look it up Hamilton was wearing his glasses.” He’s trying to justify his actions, to try to show he’s not a monster. He was trying to protect his family, and was unwilling to take the risk. Even so, he still sounds remorseful. As if wanting to take back his actions.

After Hamilton’s death, Burr goes on to narrate the aftermath, continuing until Eliza takes over. At that point, Eliza is the one preserving and continuing his legacy. The exchange of narration, however, is telling. Though Eliza was sharing his legacy and ensuring it endured, so was Burr by telling the story. By being the one to narrate it, to share it, despite having also been the man that killed him. 

It’s as if Burr wishes to make up for killing Hamilton by making sure that he shares and continues his legacy. He’s repenting for his sin. The only way to see this, though, is by watching the musical. Though you can hear the emotion in Burr’s voice in the songs, seeing his reactions is the only way to truly capture the full story. 

Hamilton is a reflection of Burr’s life as much as it is Hamilton’s. As the musical progresses, this becomes more obvious. Burr continues to address the audience, again asking questions and wondering why he continues to be inadequate when compared to Hamilton. 

I mean, it’s obvious they’re foils of one another. Burr is unwilling to pick a side, unwilling to take a stand; Hamilton, however, is strong in his values and believes you must pick a side and stay strong in your convictions. He is unwilling to play the game of politics in the way that Burr does. Hell, they’re even divided on the nature of duels. Where Hamilton thinks the duel with Charles Lee is necessary, for example, Burr finds ridiculous. What’s interesting, though, is by Act II, they seem to have switched their beliefs entirely. When Burr chooses to shoot Hamilton, he is taking a side. He’s taking a stand via duel, something he previously believed to be absurd. Hamilton, however, aims upward, choosing this instead of risking the life of his opponent by shooting him. His actions further indicate he’s unwilling to kill someone in a duel, something he likely would have been more than willing to do in Act I. These characters have been developed so well that they are perfect foils of one another. It’s impressive. 

Hamilton’s always impressed me. I remember hearing about it and thinking I’d be the only one interested (I’d recently gone through a phase where I was obsessed with Alexander Hamilton. I don’t know or understand why. I blame APUSH junior year). When I saw Hamilton take off, I was delighted. And to finally have the opportunity to see it now, years later, after having sung the soundtrack countless times? It’s incredible. 

[peblezq]

Okay, so I read this Vox article that basically sums up my main argument when defending Hamilton (The Musical).

https://www.vox.com/2016/4/14/11418672/hamilton-is-fanfic-not-historically-inaccurate

Hamilton is fanfic, and its historical critics are totally missing the point

Fans know exactly what Hamilton is about. Why don't historians?

The musical is literally a fanfic. It is an artistic interpretation inspired by a biography of Alexander Hamilton. It is a grounded story with character arcs and an overarching plot. Literally no story based on someone's life will ever be accurate because real life isn't like a story - there are no character arcs or symbolism or themes. Stories are an art form used to teach us lessons, to engage us emotionally (laughter, sadness, etc.) and to just simply...entertain.

Yes, The Founding Fathers were not great people, and the Musical recognizes that. It's not glorifying anything. It's taking a man's story (from like 230 years ago) and it is being re-shaped to teach us something and to entertain us. Lin just wrote a musical RPF fanfic and earned money from it.