Hamilton and Poetry

Poetry is boring, right? WRONG!

Poetry is music. Poetry is beauty. Poetry is playful. Poetry plays with the sounds of our language to provide extra layers of meaning. Poetry transcends the utilitarian nature of communication and treats our ears to a musical arrangement of language.

Let's study how poetry can be fun, beautiful, and meaningful while observing it in action in Lin Manuel-Miranda's hit musical Hamilton. In this 4-class unit, we will study the meaning of prosody, rhythm and meter. We will study rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance. We will also study simile, metaphor, and imagery. No background knowledge on poetry is necessary, but if the student has any background knowledge on poetry, then excellent! I will highlight my own favorite Hamilton poetry examples in class to highlight different poetry elements and I recommend that students bring their own favorites that we can discuss together.

I strongly recommend that students listen to Hamilton before beginning class.  Students of all ages are welcome, but keep in mind that Hamilton has a parental advisory warning. If you are not familiar with Hamilton, I strongly recommend that you listen and give your consent to your student studying the language used in Hamilton before enrolling in this course. Language will not be censored in my class.

There will be minimal homework for my class. I only ask that students give me examples of the poetry elements that we will study. They can either bring their own work or work from another poet.