The Beggar's Opera - Softcover

A Comic Opera

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1334480273 ISBN 13: 9781334480270

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2024

Synopsis

This book, not a contemporary work, recounts the lives of Thomas Gay and his contemporaries, leading literary figures of the time. The renowned author, an active participant in the social milieu of early 18th century England, offers a unique perspective into the life of this poet and playwright. The book explores the enlightenment ideals of the time and the complex relationship between creativity and patronage through the lens of Gay's fascinating life, which was marked by disappointment and financial hardship.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The great lords and powerful public officials of early eighteenth-century England are represented as highwaymen and thieves in this deliciously satirical ballad opera. In addition to its burlesque of the contemporary vogue for Italian operatic styles, John Gay's 1728 masterpiece ridicules a broad spectrum of political figures and social conventions—marriage, lawyers, trade, and even Walpole, the prime minister.
Depicting crime and vice at every level of society, The Beggar's Opera offers a witty and powerful indictment of greed, hypocrisy, and corruption in all social classes. When Peachum, a receiver of stolen goods, discovers that a notorious highwayman has eloped with his daughter, the wily old villain turns informer and collects the reward money as his prospective son-in-law is hauled off to prison. Events take an increasingly absurd turn as the dashing outlaw romances the jailer's daughter and effects an escape, only to return to the shadow of the gallows for a farcical climax that parodies the sentimental tragedy of the day.

About the Author

John Gay (1685–1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names. John Gay did nothing to curry the favor of the government by The Beggar's Opera, in which Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured. This famous piece, which was said to have made "Rich gay and Gay rich", was an innovation in many respects. The satire of the play has a double allegory. The characters of Peachum and Macheath represent the famous highwayman and gangster Jonathan Wild and the cockney housebreaker Jack Sheppard. At the same time, Jonathan Wild was understood to represent Robert Walpole, whose government had been tolerant of Wild's thievery and the South Sea directors' escape from punishment. Under cover of the thieves and highwaymen who figured in it was disguised a satire on society, for Gay made it plain that in describing the moral code of his characters he had in mind the corruptions of the governing class. Part of the success of The Beggar's Opera may have been due to the acting of Lavinia Fenton, afterwards Duchess of Bolton, in the part of Polly Peachum.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1334480273
• ISBN 13: 9781334480270
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 445