Friday, July 24, 2009

What are strong examples of assonance, consonance, alliteration, repetition and rhyme in "The Hamilton Mixtape"?

"The Hamilton Mixtape" could refer to a couple of things (the entire play, the forthcoming album remix), but I'll answer this question as it refers to Hamilton's opening song, "Alexander Hamilton" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's popular "Hamilton Mixtape" YouTube video (linked below, along with lyrics).



  1. Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words that are close together, but start with different consonant sounds (e.g. "Go out and mow the back yard."). In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot" where the "o" sound in each word is similar. Alternative: "Then a hurricane came and / Devastation reigned."


  2. Consonance is the repetitive sound caused by similar consonants in a phrase, frequently used to reinforce a theme or clarify imagery (e.g. came, home, and time all make use of the "m" sound). In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "He would've been dead or destitute / without a cent of restitution." We get the same "s" sound in all three words.


  3. Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words close to together. In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "The brother was ready to beg steal borrow or barter" where the "b" sound is repeated.

  4. An example of repetition can be found in the the repeated use of the phrase "Alexander Hamilton" by various members of the cast during the song. It's used to build tension, to introduce the character/play, and ties the entire song together around this character, telling the audience that the play is about this man.


  5. Rhyme, unlike consonance, generally comes only at the end of a word: "Connected it to his brain / And he wrote his first refrain / A testament to his pain".

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