Prince Hal and Hamilton: becoming a leader in Shakespeare’s Henriad and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the similarities between the musical Hamilton and the Henriad. It shows how Miranda and Shakespeare use similar strategies to depict the evolution of characters that become leaders. Prince Hal and Hamilton have to combine political and martial abilities to attain power. Hal learns from his rival Hotspur to be braver in battle, while Hamilton learns from Burr to be more cautious. However, only Hal is successful in keeping himself in power by balancing both types of skills. Another parallelism shared by the plays is how they show the negative consequences of the actions of the leaders by incorporating the voices of other characters. A secondary objective of this piece of writing is to explore Shakespearean elements in contemporary pop culture. In that regard, this study contests the traditional negative view of pop culture that considers popular manifestations of Shakespeare as lesser versions of the originals.