In each case, drawing the connection between the Hamilton character and the Macbeth character instantly adds great texture to the persona in the new work. Jefferson is cast in the role of Macduff, the character who arrives after Hamilton/Macbeth makes a play for power and consistently opposes the title character. Madison is identified as Banquo, both initially loyal lieutenants of the respective main characters but eventually opposing their former friends. (Another student in her annotations of this song commented, “I’m pissed that my high school didn’t make me read Macbeth,” so getting the references is obviously desirable.) Anyway, Hamilton identifies himself as Macbeth, whose ambition was his downfall. Three of my students had read Macbeth, and one provided a juicy but reasonably complete synopsis upon request. To this day, most American high school students have read at least one of Shakespeare’s plays, although I learned that there is some variety in the selections. Two of the most enduring works that nearly all colonists would have shared experience with were the Bible and the plays of Shakespeare. The more that people are acquainted with a source, the more powerful the reference is. The Harry Potter books are familiar to a large number of people, so I don’t have to explain the reference. For example, if I address a student by saying, “Thanks, Hermione,” then everyone knows that this particular student tends to answer all the questions. The purpose of referencing another text is to provide great depth to the current work by tapping into a source that should be well-known by the audience. “Take a Break” contains a big chunk of references to Macbeth, so this was a good place to discuss “intertextuality,” which I learned about by reading the excellent book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
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