Hamilton Rhetorical Analysis Analyzing The Federalist Papers: #13

The Broadway musical “Hamilton” tells the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. In 2015, it was an instant sensation, taking home 11 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016. Listen to “Cabinet Battle #1” and read the lyrics attached. This musical number provides background on Hamilton’s proposal presented in The Federalist Papers--namely, in the excerpt here, that the United States should establish a national bank.

1. Read these lyrics here. ​ ​ 2. Read and analyze The Federalist Papers: #13 using the SOAPStone organizer. ​ ​

It’s been a bit of time since we’ve looked at SOAPStone. Here’s a quick review: S=speaker: Who is speaking? What is their background? What do you (reader) already ​ know? O=occasion: Time? Place? Context? In non-fiction texts, this also references the ​ triggering event that caused the author to write or speak. A=audience: Who is the text meant for? Singular person? Group? Intended, ​ Secondary, Tertiary audiences? P=purpose: What is the ultimate purpose behind the text? What does the author want ​ the audience to think or do (call to action) when they’re done listening or reading? S=subject: Identify the main ideas, general topics, and content of the text. The reader ​ (you) should be able to identify this in a few words as an exercise in focusing on the RA writing task Tone=the attitude of the speaker: The reader moves beyond the literal to infer ​ tone/attitude in diction (word choice), syntax (sentence structure), imagery, and literary devices. The ability to identify a complex and sophisticated tone is one of the clearest signals of a sophisticated writer. (TO ME, this means that a student is able to see more than one tone in an ​ ​ author’s voice, where and why those tone shifts occur, and identify the complementary/contrasting tones of the speaker.)

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