Literary Analysis Essay on Hamilton Musical

Introduction

On 7th July 2019, I went to the Shin Orpheum Theatre to watch the Hamilton Musical. The play portrays the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of our country. I had a remarkable experience of learning the strength and determination through the character of a person who faced myriad of challenges but still triumphed.

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The play begins with a summary of the life of Alexander. As such, I learned that Hamilton Alexander lived in the Caribbean. He was an orphan. He was born out of wedlock. His mother died when he was twelve years. His father walked out on him. He relocated to the American colonies, New York, where he developed interest and support for the independence of America.

Hamilton is a hard worker. His ambition contributes to him accessing opportunities. For example, he goes to America's Constitutional Convention for the processes of the ratification of the US constitution. Consequently, Burr allies with Jefferson. Consequently, his political power increases. He wins the Senate seat. On the other hand, Hamilton's son is killed by one of Hamilton's critics. It puts him through grief. Consequently, Jefferson believes that he does not have an opponent in the presidential elections. However, Burr openly campaigns for the same despite claiming to be Jefferson's ally. Hamilton chooses to endorse Hamilton, which makes Burr furies. They settle their scores in a duel where he shoots Hamilton leading to the latter's death. However, Hamilton's killing is in vain because Hamilton is still remembered as an American hero, yet he remains a villain.

Generally, the plot is interesting and easy to follow. However, there are subplots like the relationship between and Hamilton with his wife and in-laws that shifts attention from the leadership journey of Hamilton. Additionally, the resolution did not satisfy me because I felt that the character of Burr should have been killed as well to show the sad end of people who are not loyal to the country.

The main characters in the musical include Hamilton, Jefferson, and Burr. I hold this opinion because it is through their interactions that we get to understand the theme of the plays. Hamilton is a hero for believing in the deliverance of his country from the British and significantly contributing to the ratification of the constitution. Jefferson is a politically-ambitious individual who lacks loyalty. Burr is a friend who later leads to the death of a hero.

The actions of Hamilton are plausible. He shows the importance of being selfless, grateful, and patriotic. However, the actions of Jefferson and Burr are not plausible. They lack loyalty and only consider their interests. Therefore, I relate to the character of Hamilton. I believe that we should be patriotic and put the interest of our countries before ours'.

The musical is based on the theme of love, betrayal, and war. Hamilton loves America. He is enthusiastic about talking about independence. He joins the Continental Army because he wants to fight for a country he loves. There is also betrayal in the musical. Although Burr is a long-term friend to Hamilton, the latter's success makes him feel jealous. As such, he allies with Jefferson to vie for a position that was occupied by Hamilton's father-in-law. Later, Burr betrays Jefferson by running for the presidency. The musical is based on a time when America was fighting for independence. It involves a lot of war. Eventually, the British army surrenders. Also, the main character, Hamilton, dies through a duel involving him and Burr.

The themes are appropriate for the political musical type of a play. All of them were clear in the interactions of the characters and fate. However, the theme of love and family could have been emphasized more to show the importance of the same in being a hero. Hamilton's wife was from a wealthy family, and her father was a politician. That played a role in politically empowering Hamilton hence I wish the plot could have emphasized this more.

The characters use a simple language. However, the jargon is that of the pre-independence and post-independent America. It was good because it is an indication that the story is based on the history of the country.

The play is a musical. Thus, the characters sang and danced. I loved that it involved different genres of music, including rap, which was not quite popular during the fight for independence. However, the use of music makes the play go fast and.; at some point, I did not quite get what the characters were singing.

Lastly, the play used the set of characters on top of something that was moving in a circular manner where every character speaking is shown using a unique light while the rest of the stage is dark. However, there were also instances when the scenes were in a court which was interesting because it broke the monotony of plain stage. Also, the costumes of the characters reflect the time in which the play is based.