Critique Paper for “Hamilton”

BY: Jaida Bea Villanueva

The musical Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was one of the most popular musicals to
be published in 2015. It highlights the contribution made by Alexander Hamilton, one of
America's founding fathers. The biography "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow inspired Lin-
Manuel Miranda to write Hamilton, a hip-hop musical about Alexander Hamilton. Since Act 2 of
this musical covers all of the political events surrounding Hamilton and America at that time, I
will just be talking about that act. In this analysis, I'll discuss how this musical differs from the
actual events and how it accurately depicts Alexander Hamilton's life.

The musical did an excellent job of explaining the history of Hamilton, and it wasn't difficult to
understand it. According to my research into Hamilton's history, the political topics shown in the
musical were nearly historically correct. For instance, Eliza Hamilton continued to share her
husband's tale with everyone and upheld his legacy by constructing an orphanage. Though
there were some exaggerated parts in the musical, such as how Thomas Jefferson was
portrayed, they consistently portrayed him as argumentative and confident, which was the exact
opposite of how Jefferson is known to have been quiet and carefully consider his political
choices. But I don't mean to imply that the exaggerated parts weakened the story's historical
significance. The songs' lyrical message and Lin-Manuel Miranda's setup of the hip-hop genre
made the show more engaging and interesting to watch. For example, the song "The Reynolds
Pamphlet" explains how Hamilton maintains his political reputation by making the Reynolds
Pamphlet accessible to the public and admitting to having an affair with Maria Reynolds.

Overall, I had an amazing time watching the musical because of how well the production and
actors allowed me to thoroughly immerse myself in the history of Hamilton's life. Since I read
Hamilton's biography, I tried to picture what happened and how it all turned out. I can say that
the Musical comes close to capturing my imagination. This shows how Lin-Manuel Miranda
effectively emphasizes and brings back the true story of Hamilton, bringing back interest in his
life among our generation.