The purpose of this research is to examine John Gay's The Beggar's Opera as an exercise in themes of social criticism and as a dramatic form that constitutes a comic parody of tragedy. The plan of the research will be to establish the general plot line of the play, and then to cite and discuss criticism of the work that illustrates the themes of social criticism and the elements of form that facilitate the presentation of those themes.
The plot of The Beggar's Opera is simple on the surface, yet riddled with a subtext of complexity. The surface plot concerns the plight of the highwayman Macheath, the erstwhile lover of Lucy Lockit, who has just married Polly Peachum, daughter of London's chief fence and police informer. To claim the reward for Macheath's capture and to claim his estate, old Peachum and Mrs. Peachum conspire with old Lockit, the keeper of Newgate Prison, to have Macheath arrested and jailed. Though jealous of Polly as a rival, Lucy helps Macheath, who promises her marriage, escape from Newgate. When he is recaptured (at his favorite brothel), he is scheduled to be hanged. Lucy and Polly plead in vain for Peachum and Lockit to release Macheath, who in turn pleads with members of his gang to see that the old conspirators are themselves hanged. All is saved when the common folk, or "rabble," demand a reprieve; beggars as much as rich men are after all entitled to such vices as keeping one or more mistresses (Macheath), cheating one's colleagues in business (Peachum, the fence informer), and marrying for money (Mrs. Peachum's fondest wish for Polly).
So much for the main plot, which is nothing if not confusing to anyone whose sense of drama is ruled by logic. But of course the main plot is not the plot at all; rather, the real plot lies with the playwright, and that is why the subtext of the action is so important. The complex subtext of the play, which emerges not from events but from the psychology o...