"In January 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton: An American Musical premiered at The Public Theater in New York City. Later that year it moved to Broadway with an engagement at the Richard Rodgers Theater, followed by productions in Chicago and London. Commercially successful and critically acclaimed, Hamilton continues to hold significant cultural relevance in 2019. As a result of this musical's cultural significance, it has the ability to communicate positive, but also limiting, aspects of our society. In this thesis, I examine the concept of rap as a musical language of power. To do this, I assert that characters in Hamilton who have power, and particularly when expressing that power, do so through rap. In contrast, when characters don't have power, or are entering realms of the powerless (i.e. spaces gendered female), they do so through lyrical song. In chapter 1, I set up the divide between rap and song as it primarily translates among male characters and class. Chapter 2 is focused on the domestic sphere, and in chapter 3 I discuss sexuality. In the conclusion of this thesis, I revisit the character of Eliza and explore the perceived power of her role as storyteller and the way in which the themes I discuss illuminate many missed opportunities to present an interpretation of America's founding that is truly revolutionary."--Page ii.
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