By Arnav Sampigethaya
Disclaimer – This review contains spoilers to American History (and the musical Hamilton), proceed with caution. Please watch Hamilton!
The word motif is defined as –
“A dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work.”
Source: Times of India
Motifs are what make the 2015 Broadway musical, Hamilton so special.
Before I get to the artistic significance of Hamilton, let me give you a little background on the musical. Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American composer and playwright amongst other things of Latino origin. He rose to prominence with his 2008 Broadway musical, In the Heights. It was a hit and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
While on vacation from performing In the Heights, Miranda came across Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton [1]. After reading just a few chapters, Miranda saw “hip-hop songs rising off the page”. He consulted with Chernow to write a collection of songs, originally intended to be a mixtape. He performed the first of these songs (which would later go on to be the song Alexander Hamilton from the musical) at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009, with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance.
Miranda further developed the mixtape which eventually evolved into a musical and performed it at the Vassar Reading Festival in July 2013. By then, director Thomas Kail and musical director Alex Lacamoire had joined the crew along with actors Daveed Diggs (who plays Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson) and Christopher Jackson (who plays George Washington).
The play then went to Off-Broadway in 2014 and Broadway in 2015 where it became a superhit. It was seen as revolutionary because of its use of hip-hop to tell a story from the past. It also used a racially diverse cast to represent traditionally white historical figures. Critics and fans alike raved about this monumental moment in musical history.
In my dissection of Hamilton, I want to explore the motifs of Alexander and Burr and how it affects the story as well as how their individual motifs are relevant to our world today. In Hamilton, it is not the repetition itself that brings the artistic significance but the placement of these repetitions at the right time to evoke the right emotions [2].
Alexander Hamilton
Due to the fact that he’s the titular character and the focal point of the musical, Hamilton has many motifs. His most significant one is “I am not throwing away my shot” which turns out to have multiple meaning throughout the musical. It first appears in the song “My Shot” in which Alexander sings about his yearning to not let go of this unique opportunity to be a part of history (the American Revolution) and ironically, also not let go of his shot of liquor as he is currently in a bar. This line appears throughout the musical whenever Hamilton is facing a moral dilemma like in Yorktown, Non-Stop, Stay Alive and ironically when he does throw away his literal ‘shot’ as he surrenders to his long time rival/friend Aaron Burr.
Source: history.com
Hamilton’s third-person motif is the verse that usually starts with “How does a…” as in the starting lines of the musical with ‘How does a bastard, orphan, son of a….”. This recurring motif is often used when other characters are talking about Hamilton in the third person, usually by Burr. Most significantly re-appearing in 'Guns and Ships', 'What’d I Miss?' And serving as the antithesis to the original in Your Obedient Servant.
Another interesting motif is one that originates from Non-stop where Burr and Eliza ask “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” which sets up his character arc in Act II perfectly as he goes from this young revolutionary to a man who’s always running out of time and works non-stop to not ‘throw away his shot’.
Hamilton’s motifs are the important as the narrative of the founding of the United States of America are told through this immigrant’s perspective and his journey from an over-enthusiastic upstart to a weary troubled man is what makes Hamilton so interesting.
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr is one of the most unique and complex characters in the musical. He is technically the villain of the musical, but he’s also so three-dimensional as a character that it’s hard to put him in a category like ‘villain’ or ‘anti-hero’. Leslie Odom Jr. does a wonderful job portraying this vastly troubled person.
Burr’s main motif is that of ‘Wait for it’. It could be argued that Wait for It is the defining motif of the entire play. It is a voice of empathy and reason, which ultimately results in Burr’s downfall. He constantly waits for it instead of taking his shot, making him the perfect complement to Alexander. He never wants to be on the wrong side and he keeps his opinions close to his heart which inevitably leads to him losing the Election of 1800.
His other main motif, “Talk less, smile more. Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for” and it’s complimentary “What do you stall for? Burr, what will you fall for?” which is introduced in 'Aaron Burr, Sir 'also defines his character. This is the reason Hamilton concludes that Aaron Burr does not care for anyone but himself, which is why he doesn’t stand for any issues. Aaron Burr’s pride and ego is his downfall as his political career ends when he shoots Hamilton. He had many opportunities to define his stance but he chooses to “Talk less, smile more” which does not give him the opportunities he wants.
Despite all this, his third and most interesting motif is his innate desire to be in ‘the room where it happens’. He yearns for power and does anything he can to be a part of the decision making process without realizing that the key to getting into that room is by taking a stand and revealing what you believe in.
Other characters
Eliza
Eliza’s motif comes in the form of ‘That would be enough’ which is her expression of love and respect for her husband who she feels is enough for her and she shows satisfaction which is in sharp contrast to Hamilton who is never satisfied.
Angelica
Angelica’s motif of ‘Satisfied’ pops-up in many places as her complex relationship with Hamilton is explored. She makes the decision not to marry Alexander when she realizes that he will never be satisfied and this notion comes throughout the play and is a mirror-image of Eliza’s relationship with Alexander.
George Washington
The ‘Right-Hand Man’ motif comes into play whenever Washington requires Hamilton to do something. Their relationship is extremely unique because he is one of the few figures that Hamilton not only fears but also respects. That’s why the ‘right-hand man’ motif is so significant for Alexander.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas is my personal favourite character in the play and his motif is more subtle than most characters. His motif comes in the form of the iconic line ‘If you don’t know, now you know’ from Juicy by the Notorious BIG (popularly known as Biggie). Thomas Jefferson is the official villain of the second act, which is what makes it so shocking when Hamilton endorses him in the election of 1800. In “What’d I Miss?” we see him performing jazz, which shows that he’s been gone a while as America has moved on to hip-hop. We see him quickly adapt as he is ‘spitting bars’ by the time we reach ‘Cabinet Battle #1’. When he’s mocking Hamilton’s immigrant nature, we see him adopt a Jamaican reggae style as this is indicative of Alexander’s Caribbean origins.
King George III
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Johnathan Groff steals the show as King George III. In a mere three songs, he captured the attention and affection of theatre-lovers and casual fans alike. Appreciated by the likes of Beyonce for his flamboyance, King George III’s motif of “Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da” is representative of how the British were behind the Americans at the time. We see that he is singing a Beatles and brit-pop inspired tune while young America has moved on to hip-hop. His notions of leadership are constantly challenged throughout the play and the narrative never takes him too seriously.
There was no way I could possibly do justice to this masterpiece in one article but I hope you learnt something or were motivated to take a closer look at the play. I could go on and on about the different motifs in Hamilton because there are so many of them and I’m sure I missed a bunch but I think it’s better if you find them yourself and enrich your experience that way. Without a doubt, if you haven’t watched Hamilton, please go and do so, it is streaming on Disney+. It is a cultural phenomenon for a reason and it deserves all the attention it can get. I give Hamilton the 255 times I’ve listened to it in the week out of ten.
Works Cited
[1] R. Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, Penguin Press, 2004. [2] Make Stuff, “Hamilton and Motifs: Creating Emotional Paradoxes,” 1 September 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWK1B1EiQ7U&t=1552s.
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