In the musical Hamilton by Lin Manuel Miranda, the writer uses a variety of appeals to connect the audience of today to their past. Throughout the forty six songs used, Miranda uses many different techniques to create a deeper understanding and connection for the beginnings of America in a way a contemporary audience of today can relate to. One example of the unique way Miranda is able to give life to the past is with the song “You’ll Be Back”. It’s constructed in a way that sounds like a person bitter over a breakup and that they’re writing a letter to their ex. Not only does this bring a humorous aspect to the song, in that its sung by King George to America, but it also provides a sense of relatability to its message by simplifying the complexity of politics down to something more human which many more people can understand. By using the three appeals of rhetoric, ethos, …show more content…
At first glance the song seems very illogical in a sense, due to how this particular piece is composed. It’s framed as a breakup song, with King George being the bitter ex-lover and the audience, which are Americans, portraying the other party. On one hand, the audience could interpret the king as being someone who simply can’t let go, however there seems to be a darker undertone to the song that’s not very transparent. At one point the king even says that he “will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love” which is more along the lines of an abusive relationship than simply a person who is being bitter (Miranda). The logic of this statement is that the Americans should return to England so that their friends and family won’t be killed. There is however another implication of the line which is that if the Americans don’t return to England, the deaths will be on their hands. This is a typical strategy of abusers to place the blame for their actions on the victim either to keep them quiet, submissive, or some sort of combination of the