Now I understand the reputation that “Hamilton Kids” have but hear me out.
I want to start the off by saying I wasn’t a part of the Hamilton fandom in either of its primes (I consider it to have two). I wasn’t involved in it when the musical first took off in 2015/2016 or when the filmed version was officially released on Disney Plus in 2020.
I became aware of the infamous musical in Sophomore year when my school called an assembly to watch it for our Sophomore Seminar class. After watching the first half in the cafeteria I was immediately captivated by the story telling and writing (duh I’m a literary student). In this post I want to get into why I admire it so much but first I want to say I get why some people may be hesitant about it, like when it comes to the mentions of how it downplays the founding fathers’ roles in slavery and its inaccuracies, and I think this is completely valid.
1. The telling of History through black bodies.
Now this is a point of contention for some critics, who feel that Hamilton used people of color in the cast while not including the story of actual POC from then, and that’s also valid but I can say that as a young Black Woman watching a group of men of color, most of which black sing about unity and brotherhood will always feel nice to see even if they’re telling white history. However, I do think it would’ve been nice to include more about how black people(slaves) had a massive hand in building this country as well.
2. The Writing.
Whether or not you like Lin Manuel Miranda I feel like everyone can agree his writing is remarkable. The way he writes about love in particular gets me whether that love be between siblings, friends, or parental love. Here’s some of my all time favorite lines, some about love and some just because they stuck with me.
- “I swear that I’ll be around for you. I’ll do whatever it takes. “I’ll make a million mistakes. “I’ll make the world safe and sound for you.”-Hamilton and Burr in “Dear Theodosia”
- “I love my sister more than anything in this life. I will choose her happiness over mine every time.”- Angelica Schuyler in “The Reynolds Pamphlet”
- “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory”-Alexander Hamilton in multiple songs
- “And when my prayers to God were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.”- Alexander Hamilton in “Hurricane”.
- “You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”- Eliza Hamilton quoting Angelica Hamilton in “Burn”.
- “One stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days.”- Angelica Shuyler in “Take a Break.”
- “Winning is easy young man living is harder.”- George Washington in “Right Hand Man.”
- “At least I keep his eyes in my life”-Angelica Schuyler in “Satisfied”
- “I may not live to see our glory. But I will gladly join the fight”- Alexander Hamilton in “The Story of Tonight”
- “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints”-Aaron Burr in “Wait for it”
- “Just stay alive, that would be enough”-Eliza Hamilton in “That Would be Enough”
- “Best of wives and best of women”- Alexander Hamilton in “Best Of Wives and The Best of Women
- “You and words flooded my senses. Your sentences left me defenseless. You built my palaces out of paragraphs. You built cathedrals.”- Eliza Hamilton in “Burn”
There’s definitely more but If I keep adding it’s going to get miles long.
3. Its Homage to Music (especially Hip-Hop)
Lin Manuel Miranda has made no attempt to keep his love of music hidden, especially for hip-hop/rap. He’s been very outspoken about his love for the genre. He grew up listening to it and said it was “a no brainer” to include it in the musical.
Here’s a list of artists who had some kind of reference in the musical.5
- Biggie (Notorious B.I.G)
- Mobb Deep
- DMX
- Busta Rhymes
- Beyonce
- Tupac
- Mary. J. Blige
I could go on and on about my love for the musical, but this seems to be getting a little long, so I’ll maybe do a part 2.
Sources:
ICYMI: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s HAMthology Playlist – playlist by Hamilton | Spotify
As a fellow diehard Hamilton fan, I appreciate this post immensely. Hamilton was a work of literary, musical, and theatrical genius that, in my opinion, could never be appreciated enough. I also related to a lot of those quotes, especially “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory,” “I love my sister more than anything in this life, I would choose her happiness over mine anytime,” and “When my prayers to God were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.” I love how you included his references to hip-hop, as well.