Finishing the Hat

E696545

"Finishing the Hat" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the musical *Sunday in the Park with George*, celebrated for its intricate lyrics and exploration of the sacrifices of artistic creation.

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf song
associatedCharacter Georges Seurat NERFINISHED
associatedWithAwardWinningWork Sunday in the Park with George (Pulitzer Prize for Drama) NERFINISHED
celebratedFor integration of music and text
intricate lyrics
psychological depth
composer Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
describedByCriticsAs a key statement of Sondheim's views on art
one of Stephen Sondheim's signature songs
dramaticFunction character song
exploration of protagonist's artistic drive
soliloquy
featuredInAct Act I of Sunday in the Park with George NERFINISHED
firstBroadwayProduction Sunday in the Park with George (1984 Broadway production) NERFINISHED
firstPerformanceInWork Sunday in the Park with George (1983 workshop) NERFINISHED
genre musical theatre
hasMusicalFeatures motivic development reflecting character psychology
shifting harmonies underscoring emotional conflict
speech-like melodic contour
hasNotableLine "Finishing the hat, how you have to finish the hat" NERFINISHED
"Look, I made a hat where there never was a hat"
hasType solo number
influenced perceptions of Sondheim as a composer-lyricist concerned with artistic process
language English
lyricalStyle complex wordplay
extended metaphor
intricate internal rhymes
lyricist Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED
musical Sunday in the Park with George NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective first person
originalMedium stage musical
partOfWork Sunday in the Park with George NERFINISHED
performedByCharacter George NERFINISHED
relatedWork Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) and attendant comments, principles, heresies, grudges, whines and anecdotes NERFINISHED
subjectOf critical essays on the nature of artistic commitment
musicological analysis of Sondheim's compositional style
theme artistic creation
isolation of the artist
obsession with work
sacrifice
tension between art and relationships
titlePhraseRefersTo act of completing a detail in a painting
workInspiredTitleOf Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) by Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED
writer Stephen Sondheim NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

musical "Sunday in the Park with George" (indirectly via the painting) notableSong Finishing the Hat
subject surface form: Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George notableSong Finishing the Hat