Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Gay was an English poet, satirist, and dramatist of England who is best known for his ballad opera titled The Beggar’s Opera which he wrote in 1728. Ballad Opera was a genre of English stage entertainment that emerged at the beginning of the 18th century as a response to the dominance of Italian operas over the English entertainment stage. The Beggar’s Opera proved to be the first successful Ballad Opera and John Gay became the pioneer of this genre. John Gay was a satirist and a prominent figure of the Scriblerus Club whose other members included Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, John Arbuthnot, Henry St. John, and Thomas Parnell. The group often worked in collaboration to create political and societal satire and to avoid any repulsive offense against their writing, they created a fictional figure titled Martinus Scriblerus, through whose writings they accomplished their satirical aims. The Beggar’s Opera satirically lampooned Whigs politician Robert Walpole notoriously known as the Great Corruptor. In addition, the opera also satirizes then-famous criminals including Jonathan Wild, the thief-taker, Claude Duval, the highwayman, Charles Hitchen, and Jack Sheppard, the prison-breaker.
Characters of The Beggar’s Opera
Mr. Peachum is the leader of the biggest syndicate of criminals who betrays or discards his thieves, highwaymen, and prostitutes when they are no longer useful to him. He is based on Jonathan Wild. Polly Peachum is his young, beautiful daughter who falls in love with a highwayman Mr. Macheath and marries him without the consent of her parents. She remains totally devoted to him. Mrs. Peachum is Polly’s mother. She is an aid to her husband and understands his business. Lockit is the jailer of private police or thief-catchers. He is an associate of Mr. Peachum who aspires of becoming an independent crime lord. He also runs a syndicate of lesser strength. Lockit is based on Charles Hitchens. Lucy Lockit is the daughter of Lockit who also loves Macheath. She despises him for marrying Polly instead of her but still has a great passion for him and continues to try to win him back from Polly. Diana Trapes is a former prostitute who is now the head of the female gang criminals who work under Mr. Peachum’s direction. Macheath is a highwayman who worked for Peachum but then broke away and began his gang of criminals. He is liked by common people for his Robin Hood kind of activities. His character is based on Jack Sheppard, the prison-breaker who was also known as the Honest Jack. He is a womanizer who though loves and marries Polly, has many other lovers. Filch is a petty thief working for Mr. Peachum. Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry are two thieves of Peachum’s gang who conspire with him to catch Macheath. Dolly Trull, Betty Doxy, Mrs. Vixen, and Mrs. Slammekin are other female criminals of Peachum’s gang who worked with Macheath before he left Peachum’s gang. He is a womanizer who had relationships with each of them in the past. Bob Booty is a thief working for Mr. Peachum. Mr. Peachum is not satisfied with him and blacklists him to be caught and punished. Bob Booty was the nickname of Robert Walpole. The Beggar and the Player are two friends who introduce the play. The Beggar is the author of the opera within the play and he reappears at the end of the play to discuss and revise the story's ending.
Summary of The Beggar’s Opera
It is a three-act play. In the beginning, the Beggar appears and introduces the characters to the Player. The Beggar is the author who says that though his opera contains no recitative, prologue, or epilogue, it should be considered as he assures the audience that his play follows all other conventions of the day's fashionable operas. Mr. Peachum appears and justifies his actions as a thief catcher while he is the leader of the biggest syndicate of criminals in London. He is preparing the blacklist of unproductive thieves and criminals who no longer are profitable and thus, will be caught. He in return will get the awards declared on them. As Mrs. Peachum hears that he is adding Bob Booty to that list, she protests and advises him not to do so as Bob Booty is very powerful and may harm them. Mr. Peachum is indifferent. He rather laments over his suspicion that their daughter Polly is romantically involved with a notorious highway robber Macheath. He instructs Mrs. Peachum to anyhow stop Polly as it will harm his business. He stresses that Polly must not marry Macheath, or else her money and potential earnings will default to Macheath. Mrs. Peachum calls Filch to enquire about Polly. Filch is reluctant in revealing secrets of Polly. Mrs. Peachum takes him away to enquire differently.
Polly appears and tells his father not to worry as she is just flirting with Macheath to gain goods and gifts. Mrs. Peachum appears again outraged, as Filch has revealed to her in effect alcohol about the recent marriage of Polly and Macheath. When Peachum comes to know about this, he shouts. Polly confesses that she married Macheath because she was seduced and she needed to safeguard her reputation. Mrs. Peachum asks her how she will support such a husband who is too much involved "in Gaming, Drinking and Whoring." Mr. Peachum says that Macheath is a successful robber who must have made a huge fortune. Mrs. Macheath suggests that the marriage of Polly with him can turn out to be profitable to them if he is caught and killed as then, his fortune will be legally transferred to Mr. Peachum, his father-in-law. Polly protests against this but is ignored by her parents. She immediately goes to her bedroom where Macheath is hidden. He vouches his fidelity for Polly and Polly informs him about her parents’ plan and tells him to go away and meet her again at safer times.
Macheath flees away from Peachum’s house and visits a tavern where there are many women who are prostitutes, pickpockets, thieves, and robbers. Despite their class, all of them are well-mannered and behave like ladies. Yet, the subject matter of their discussion is pickpocketing, shoplifting, or robbing. Macheath is soon surrounded by some beautiful buxom girls. Two of them are Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry who have been sent by Mrs. Peachum to catch Macheath. Jenny Diver seduces Macheath and brings him to a corner in solitude where she and Suky Tawdry offers him excessive alcohol and he loses consciousness. As he regains, he finds himself in a cell at Newgate Prison. Jailor Lockit is a corrupt man who is an associate of Mr. Peachum. His daughter Lucy Lockit visits Macheath and scolds him for agreeing to marry her and then breaking his promise. She tells him that to see him tortured would give her pleasure. Macheath tries to pacify her but soon Polly also arrives and confronts Lucy, claiming that Maceath has already married her. Lucy gets outraged and makes Polly go away. Macheath tells her that Polly is telling a lie and she is a crazy girl who is trying to force him to marry her. He says he just pretended to marry her to save himself from her father’s wrath. Lucy accepts his lies and helps him escape jail by stealing her father's keys. When Jailor Lockit enquires her, she says that Macheath has promised to marry her. Jailor Lockit then gets worried that if Macheath is recaptured and killed, then Mr. Peachum will claim half of his wealth as legally, he is the father-in-law of Macheath. He meets Peachum and both agree to divide Macheath’s fortune between them after he is recaptured and hanged.
Polly learns about the new accord between Mr. Lockit and her father and decides to meet Lucy to take her help in protecting Macheath. Lucy thinks that if Polly is killed, she will have no hurdle in marrying Macheath and thus, tries to poison her. Polly narrowly escapes the poisoning and convinces Lucy that Macheath’s life is in danger as all of the criminals must be pursuing to catch him for the rewards Mr. Lockit and Mr. Peachum have announced. A guard of the prison informs that Macheath has been recaptured with the help of Mrs. Diana Trapes who got him inebriated. Both girls get worried and approach their fathers to beg mercy for Macheath. Mr. Lockit and Mr. Peachum are too greedy. However, their plan to kill Macheath and divide his fortune among them is open to all. Four female members of criminal gangs Dolly Trull, Betty Doxy, Mrs. Vixen, and Mrs. Slammekin visit Macheath in the prison with claims that they are pregnant with his child (to gain a right in his fortune). Lockit and Peachum realize that it won't be easy to capture Macheath’s fortune and decide to accept their daughters’ request to forgive Macheath. However, Macheath cannot fathom taking responsibility for these women claiming to be pregnant with his child and begs to be hanged.
The Beggar appears again in the penultimate scene and discusses with the Player that though the poetic justice suggests that Macheath and the other villains should be hanged, the audience demands a happy ending. So they inform that Macheath has been forgiven and invite everybody to dance and celebrate the wedding party of Polly and Macheath.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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