Hamilton and Angelica's Comma
Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton Musical almost wasn't the success that it is today. Originally, Miranda left out one of the most interesting relationships in the musical-- the love triangle between Hamilton and sisters Eliza and Angelica.
Angelica adds an interesting element to Hamilton, as she is in many ways his equal. They are both witty, intelligent, and charismatic people who are passionate in driving change. Their flirtations remain a dance throughout the musical.
One instance where their flirtations show is during "Take a Break," where the sisters plead to try to get Hamilton to join them for the summer.
In the historical equivalent of modern-day sexting, Hamilton added a comma to a sentence that changed the meaning to indicate Angelica was the dearest. With this, the meaning of the title of the song takes two meanings as well. The sisters plead for Hamilton to take a break from his work to join them, but also, the comma breaks the sentence and meaning and possibly breaks Angelica into wanting more from her relationship with Hamilton.
This has historical roots. Hamilton had written a letter to Angelica where, in French, he wrote, “Adieu ma chere, soeur” (Adieu my dear, sister) in response to what he assumed was an error in a letter Angelica wrote.
Indeed my dear, Sir if my path was strewed with as many roses, as you have filled your letter with compliments, I should not now lament my absence from America: but even Hope is weary of doing anything for so assiduous a votary as myself.
Hamilton responds that he wishes the comma was "designed," as in intentional and planned, and he wishes she repeat it if it was intentional.
There was a most critical comma in your last letter. It is my interest that it should have been designed, but I presume it was accidental. Unriddle this if you can. The proof that you do it rightly may be given by the omission or repetition of the same mistake in your next.
Stannis and Davos- Game of Thrones
While Stannis is not the most popular of contenders of the throne in the Game of Thrones series, he gained a great deal of popularity for his assertion of grammatical rules.
While grammar nazis can be annoying in real life, fans adored Stannis' ability to always stand up for what was right, let it be law or grammar. It was when he no longer held consistent to these principles that fans lost love for the prospective king.
However, through Stannis' successes and failures, Davos, his advisor, learned. He grows from being a lowly Onion Knight and illiterate thief to an educated man who exemplifies both wisdom and intelligence.
When Davos is advising Jon in a later season, he makes a call-back to the lesser/ fewer scene. For fans, this was an opportunity for a laugh, but if you watch the scene carefully, it also shows a moment in which Davos may subtly pointing out a moment in which Jon may not be acting intelligently. Jon shows his lack of care in choosing words through his grammatical error, but also clouded judgment in terms of making decisions in regards to Dany.
Sheldon and Leonard- Big Bang Theory- Had Will Have Placed
In Big Bang Theory, most of the main characters are extremely intelligent, so when Sheldon, the strickler for rules, mentions there may be a tense issue when dealing with time travel, Leonard quickly and accurately comes up with the correct tense. While I have a degree in English, I barely understand the time travel component, so here is a clip so you can determine for yourself if he got it correct.
Ross- Friends- The OG Grammar Nazi
When watch Friends growing up, I honestly did not think highly of Ross and his corrections. However, as I see more and more of my educated adult friends commit crimes against grammar, I am finding Ross increasingly relatable.
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