A friend told me that the recurring musical themes in Hamilton: An American Musical that I noticed in 20240602191042 are called leitmotifs. I wanted to learn more about this, so checked the references on the Wikipedia page about leitmotifs and noticed a reference mentioning Hamilton.
I was able to track down a source of the reference, Resonances: Engaging Music in Its Cultural Context (ISBN: 978-1-940771-31-1), online. Apparently, it is available for free online under a CC BY-SA license and it can be downloaded from the University of North Georgia website: https://ung.edu/university-press/books/resonances-engaging-music.php
The relevant section on leitmotifs and Hamilton in Chapter 4 is quoted below:
“I Know Him” is not the only example of a musical reprise. Indeed, in crafting the score to Hamilton, Miranda sought to unify the various parts of the work using cyclical techniques. Hamilton contains many musical ideas that harken back to earlier points in the work. This approach to creating a narrative can be compared to Wagner’s use of leitmotifs. For example, the opening of the musical begins with a narrative rapped by Aaron Burr: “How does a bastard […] grow up to be a hero and scholar?” Miranda treats this passage from Aaron Burr’s opening number, which is entitled “Alexander Hamilton,” as a leitmotif, which later returns in “A Winter’s Ball,” “Guns and Ships,” “What’d I Miss,” “The Adams Administration,” and “Your Obedient Servant.” Despite the recurrence of musical material, however, each of these numbers has a distinct character. In “What’d I Miss,” the borrowing takes on a swinging feel as the once-straight sixteenths of the opening become dotted. In “Your Obedient Servant,” on the other hand, the tone is darkened by tremolo strings and the omission of the snaps that were previously heard on offbeats: Burr, now downright angry, is resentful of Alexander Hamilton.
Here are the lyrics from each of the listed songs:
Alexander Hamilton:
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?
A Winter’s Ball:
How does the bastard, orphan, son of a whore Go on and on Grow into more of a phenomenon? Watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother Be seated at the right hand of the father
Guns and Ships:
How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower Somehow defeat a global superpower? How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire? Leave the battlefield waving Betsy Ross’ flag higher?
What’d I Miss:
How does the bastard orphan Immigrant decorated war vet Unite the colonies through more debt? Fight the other founding fathers til he has to forfeit? Have it all, lose it all You ready for more yet?
Your Obedient Servant:
How does Hamilton An arrogant Immigrant, orphan Bastard, whoreson Somehow endorse Thomas Jefferson, his enemy A man he’s despised since the beginning Just to keep me from winning?
The Adams Administration:
How does Hamilton the short-tempered Protean creator of the Coast Guard Founder of the New York Post Ardently abuse his cab’net post Destroy his reputation? Welcome, folks, to The Adams administration!
In each of these examples, if you listen to the songs you can hear the same short yet recognizable melody preceding the lyrics, though they are often altered. Not only that, but the lyrics themselves have the same recognizable melody even though the exact delivery of them is different. These two parts (either considered separately or together as a unit) make up a leitmotif.