If you haven’t yet snagged your e-version of Never Satisfied Until Satisfied In Thee: Finding Grace in Hamilton, now’s your chance! Mockingbird’s latest e-book is a wonderful collection of gospel-centered essays about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s landmark musical, Hamilton. Edited by Tim Peoples and Cort Gatliff, this e-book features fresh essays by Stephanie Phillips, Michael Sansbury, Lauren R.E. Larkin, Margaret Pope, Matthew Linder, Amanda McClendon, and the editors themselves.
The following excerpt comes from Cort’s introduction:
My life can be divided into two distinct eras: Before Hamilton and After Hamilton. On October 1, 2015, after months of following the online hysteria and critical acclaim, the former era came to an end when I finally set aside time to listen to the Broadway cast recording of composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest, unconventional project: a hip-hop musical about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Moments after hitting play, this work of art captured my imagination in a way no other cultural phenomenon in recent memory has. So my love affair began.[1]
Hamilton opens with a 37-word question intended to reflect the historical Alexander Hamilton’s verbose writing (and probably speaking) style (“Alexander Hamilton”[2]):
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
spot in the Caribbean by providence
impoverished, in squalor,
grow up to be a hero and a scholar?[3]
The electric two-and-a-half hours that follow are the answer. With dizzying wordplay and contagious energy, Miranda, the certified genius[4] who wrote the music and lyrics and stars in the titular role, tells the story of Hamilton’s astonishing life—his bleak childhood, his tumultuous political career and scandalous love life, and his fateful encounter with the business end of Vice President Aaron Burr’s pistol—and invites audiences to imagine the founding of the United States in a new way.
After memorizing every word and peeling back the layers to discover hidden historical and cultural references, I moved on to Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow’s masterful 832-page biography on which the musical is based.[5] I was downright evangelical about the whole thing, finding ways to bring Hamilton up in random conversations, often with strangers. Friends began to inquire about my mental health. In a scheme that worked better than I could have imagined, I got my wife hooked too, and together we withdrew a significant chunk from our savings and purchased two tickets to the show while visiting New York City.
Indeed, from the moment it hit Broadway, Hamilton seemed to inspire that rabid sort of fandom that turns a work of art into a genuine cultural force. One reviewer suggested[6] people mortgage their homes to go see it. Each night, celebrities of all stripes, from Jay Z to Julia Roberts, filled the seats of the Richard Rodgers Theatre; the Obamas saw it—twice—and brought the original cast to the White House! With an extended run underway in Chicago and a national tour with dates planned for years in advance, it doesn’t look like Hamilton is going away any time soon.
Of the many themes woven throughout Hamilton, there is one I find myself pondering most often: our need to justify our own existence. Born into poverty in the Caribbean, Hamilton had little hope of rising above his station. But when a hurricane ripped through his home, a series of events were set in motion that ultimately led to him playing an integral role in the birth of our nation. Despite the fact that he served as George Washington’s right-hand man, marries into a wealthy family, and accomplishes more in a few years than most men will in a lifetime, Hamilton is haunted by the feeling that he’s an outsider. There’s this constant need to do more, to prove himself worthy, to leave a legacy.
Essentially, Hamilton believes his worth is determined by what he accomplishes. Early in the musical, a character warns that Hamilton “will never be satisfied,” a phrase that takes on multiple meanings throughout the show. Several times, Eliza, Hamilton’s wife, urges Hamilton to “look around,” and asks, “isn’t this enough?” They have survived the war, had a child, and are building a happy life together. Isn’t that enough? For Hamilton, a man obsessed with his military and political legacy, the answer is no, it’s not enough. This is, of course, the problem with determining the value of our lives by what we do: there’s always more that can be done—we will never be satisfied.
“God help and forgive me,” Hamilton sings in “The Room Where It Happens,” one of the musical’s showstoppers. “I wanna to build something that’s gonna/Outlive me.” I confess I’m as susceptible to this line of thinking as the next guy. Like Hamilton, I want people to remember me for doing great things. But when I examine these feelings, I find they’re rooted in egomania and insecurity. Why do I want to do things that the world finds impressive? So I will be remembered when I’m gone. Why do I want to be remembered when I’m gone? Because if I’m not, my existence was a waste. And that’s my biggest fear—squandered potential. That’s what keeps me up at night. This is life under the Law: You are defined by what you do, and nothing more. For a sinner like me, prone to wander and liable to failure, this is a crushing burden.
Hamilton ends the same way it begins: with a question. “Will they tell your story?” In my darkest moments, I hear those words and panic. Am I living a story worth telling? Have I left my mark on the universe? But there is hope and life found in a true and better question: Whose story am I telling? The answers we are ultimately looking for are found in the gospel of grace, which frees us from the weight of self-justification and tells us that we are defined not by what we do, but by what someone else—Jesus—has already done.
In this essay collection, we explore themes of ambition, forgiveness, tragedy, and grace in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Our essays express the many ways that Miranda’s musical has been an encouragement to us and can be helpful to the readers in their journey of faith. We sincerely hope that you find this collection insightful and inspirational.
And now, let’s tell our stories.
Never Satisfied Until Satisfied in Thee: Finding Grace in Hamilton is available now! Click here for more information on this incredible collection of essays!
[1] An earlier draft of this essay appeared as a post on the Mockingbird blog: https://mbird.com/2016/03/how-alexander-hamilton.
[2] Ed.: Song titles are referenced parenthetically or in the text—fully on first mention in an essay, abbreviated thereafter if longer than four words.
[3] Ed.: The standard text for song lyrics is Hamilton: An American Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, first print edition (a.k.a., the Hamiltome).
[4] Miranda received a MacArthur “Genius” grant in 2015.
[5] Ed.: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (New York: Penguin, 2004 [Kindle edition, 2005]) is a key text in this book. It will be cited parenthetically by last name, page number (not Kindle-specific “loc” number), e.g., (Chernow, 23).
[6] Ben Brantley, “Review: ‘Hamilton,’ Young Rebels Changing History and Theater,” The New York Times (https://nyti.ms/2k2c3uW)
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Nice little article. We saw Hamilton in Denver, this evening. Would like to get the -book for a follow-up. Only in Kindle, though?