Description
The graph and table above display the frequency of repeated phrases throughout the entirety of Hamilton. The phrases chosen had to appear in three or more songs to qualify as a repeated phrase in this circumstance. We chose eight specific phrases: my shot, wait, helpless, satisfied, rise (up), look around, time, and legacy. We chose these phrases for several reasons. The first reason is, as avid listeners of the soundtrack, we remember phrases, such as 'my shot', 'satisfied', and 'helpless', as prominent lyrics. The second reason is that while tagging up the songs for other features we were investigating, we noticed the same lyrics appearing in different songs, like 'look around' and 'rise (up)'. The third reason is due to an online tool we used called Voyant, which identifies most frequent words and phrases within texts. We uploaded the lyrics and words such as 'wait', 'time', and 'legacy' featured on the word map it created.
The final reason why we chose these phrases was due to their meaning and relation to the themes and characters in the musical. 'My shot' is often said by Hamilton, 'wait' by Burr, 'helpless' by Eliza, and 'satisfied' by Angelica. 'Legacy', 'time', 'rise (up)', and 'look around' tie into the themes of the musical. While there are certainly other phrases that can be tracked throughout various songs, we chose these eight as they appeared the most prominent and important to us during our research.
NOTE: The spoken scene titled "Tomorrow There'll Be More Of Us" in the Song Index is not included.
Table of Phrase Frequency
| My Shot | Wait | Helpless | Satisfied | Rise (Up) | Look Around | Time | Legacy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Hamilton | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Burr, Sir | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| My Shot | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| The Story of Tonight | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Schuyler Sisters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Farmer Refuted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| You'll Be Back | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Right Hand Man | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A Winter's Ball | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Helpless | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Satisfied | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Story of Tonight (Reprise) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wait for It | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Stay Alive | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ten Duel Commandments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Meet Me Inside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| That Would Be Enough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Guns and Ships | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| History has its Eyes on You | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| What Comes Next? | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dear Theodosia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Stop | 3 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 0 |
| What'd I Miss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cabinet Battle #1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Take A Break | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Say No to This | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Room Where it Happens | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Schuyler Defeated | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cabinet Battle #2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Washington On Your Side | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| One Last Time | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| I Know Him | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Adams Administration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| We Know | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| The Reynolds Pamphlet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Burn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Blow Us All Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Stay Alive (Reprise) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| It's Quiet Uptown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| The Election of 1800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Your Obedient Servant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Best of Wives and Best of Women | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| The World Was Wide Enough | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Total: | 55 | 77 | 31 | 34 | 28 | 38 | 61 | 10 |
Analysis
Looking at the graph and table can tell us some interesting things about Hamilton. The most used phrase is 'wait'. When tagging 'wait', we found it used in different contexts. Sometimes is was a reference to somebody not seizing the moment, while other times it was used to tell somebody to slow down and enjoy life. The phrase 'time' is mentioned in the most songs. In the beginning it is referenced less frequently and towards the end it is mentioned a lot more frequently. The phrase 'time' is referencing the abstract version of time, such as when Hamilton says, "I'm running out of time." It suggests that as Hamilton nears his death, the musical emphasizes time a lot more. The other interesting thing to note is that 'helpless' and 'satisfied' are both mentioned 23 times in the song of the same title. This is interesting as both women are singing about their love of Hamilton. Eliza is rendered helpless by Hamilton while Angelica feels only Hamilton would satisfy her in life.