![]() ![]() The words themselves here are foreshadowing his downfall and death, but with plausible deniability: maybe Hamilton himself just sees his predicament as Treasury Secretary being so difficult and hopeless that it is truly tragic to him. ![]() It’s also not entirely clear why Hamilton would see his own life as a tragedy at this point in the plot: as he’s close to rising about as high as he’s going to reach. The lines between writer and actor are blurred here, as Hamilton seems to imply, “here’s what I would say if I were an actor performing in a play” and “here’s a little inside joke that theater goers will enjoy.” Hamilton continues the idea of himself as merely playing his part in a performance by comparing his life to Macbeth, and then acknowledging the stage tradition of superstition around bad luck coming to those who utter the word Macbeth. There is first the surface level cleverness of Hamilton himself being Scottish (calling back to the “son of a whore and Scotsman” line). I think Miranda is having some fun here with Hamilton comparing himself to Macbeth, and who the “I” and “you” in the passage above really refer to. I trust you’ll understand the reference to Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play Until now, Hamilton hasn’t had to take notes from anyone. In his new position Hamilton needs to answer to constituents and balance what he wants with the agendas of many other players. For the first time in the narrative, he is facing resistance: That he sees himself as an actor playing some part, however, is fitting. Hamilton doesn’t know what to do about gaining congressional support for creating a national bank, but he isn’t facing any sort of life or death situation (not yet at least). The total despondence implied by quoting this specific passage I think speaks to Hamilton’s loud-mouthed and pain-in-the-ass nature: he’s being dramatic. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. ![]() Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Here’s the rest of the soliloquy, which Macbeth says in Act V after learning that Lady Macbeth has died: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day” Hamilton leads off the body of the letter with two lines from one of the most analyzed and celebrated passages from any of Shakespeare’s works: What follows is a difficult entangling of Hamilton speaking to Angelica, the play itself speaking to the audience, and perhaps Miranda communicating on an even deeper meta-level beyond the scope of the performance itself. They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my folly I’m a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain Madison is Banquo, Jefferson’s Macduff And Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinaneįirst, there is something of a parallel here in the writing of the letter to Angelica itself (though also based on historical fact) to Macbeth writing to Lady Macbeth about his aspirations and prophecy of the witches that he will become king. My dearest, Angelica “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day” I trust you’ll understand the reference to Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play Hamilton, having just departed the first cabinet battle and facing his first major challenge as treasury secretary, sings as he writes to Angelica Schuyler in Take a Break: Let’s start with the reference to Macbeth itself. One of the most notable allusions writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda makes is to the Shakespeare play Macbeth, which appears in a letter Alexander Hamilton writes to Angelica Schuyler in the song Take a Break. The musical Hamilton is rich with references and allusions to a wide range of earlier works from the theater and popular music.
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