Linguistic Analysis on the Musical Hamilton: Functions of Puns and Repetitions

Hamilton: The Musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has quickly become globally popular after its premiere in 2015. As a hip-hop musical with quick rapping, the lyrics and language in the songs prove to be a huge part in the play. This article explores this successful musical from a linguistics perspective. Texts and lyrics in the play are analyzed here based on linguistic theories with a qualitative research method. It is found that puns and repetitions are key elements of the language used in the play. Exact puns, near puns, reprises of songs, and repetitions of words and lines are used to establish the American historical setting, portray characters, refine plot development, and deliver emotion to the audience.