Amy Holbrook the press . However , one of the most explicit metaphors used in the song is the use of mask and gun by Jefferson ,
Somebody give me some dirt on his vacuous mask So we can , at last , unmask him I ’ ll pull the trigger on him , someone load the gun and cock it While we were all watching , he got Washington in his pocket
‘ Washington on Your Side ’ Hamilton
Miranda uses the mask metaphor to depict how the characters believe Hamilton is hiding something , with the mask being the source and the thing they perceive him to be keeping secret as the target . The metaphor is somewhat invisible in that the characters themselves are not sure what they are going to uncover – or unmask – and the audience are not sure what they are hoping to find either . This metaphor is then mixed with a gun analogy , drawing once again on the idea of ‘ the shot ’ being a current throughout the musical that is used in lots of different contexts . Jefferson says he will pull the trigger on Hamilton so long as someone else loads and cocks it for him , and this metaphor suggests he will be the one to ‘ out ’ Hamilton ’ s potential misdeeds if the others do the research with him and find out what they are ‘ shooting ’ him for . There is a level of irony in this lyric as Jefferson is singing about someone pulling the trigger on Hamilton to Burr , but Burr is ultimately the one to literally pull the trigger on Hamilton and kill him in the final scenes . This metaphorical expression also contributes the conceptual metaphor that
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HAMILTON ’ S SHOT IS HIS LIFE in the sense that these characters are discussing using their metaphorical shot to end Hamilton ’ s career by way of comparing it to his life .
A final metaphor of note in ‘ Washington on Your Side ’ draws on the image of a housefire ,
Well , somebody has to stand up to his mouth If there ’ s a fire you ’ re trying to douse You can ’ t put it out from inside the house I ’ m in the cabinet , I am complicit
‘ Washington on Your Side ’ Hamilton
This sees Jefferson struggling with the realisation that for as long as he is within the cabinet that Hamilton operates in , he is complicit to the actions and ‘ fire ’ that is roaring in the house . If the characters wish to douse ( remove ) the fire ( Hamilton ) in the house ( from the cabinet ) they understand that Jefferson needs to be a level removed , and they use this metaphor to illustrate that to the audience . The sophisticated rhyming and synecdoche Miranda uses throughout the musical are seen here nicely with someone standing up to Hamilton ’ s ‘ mouth ’ being a metaphor representative of Hamilton ’ s words , and Hamilton as a whole person .
Conclusion Metaphors are grounded in correlations in our experience ( Kövecses 2010 : 80 ) and the intention of this essay was to prove that in a theatrical context they allow the audience to appreciate what is happening in language