The Beggars Opera

 

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The Beggars Opera is a very important play of Augustan age and the only surviving example of a formerly genre of satirical ballad opera.  It is a three act ballad opera by John Gay.

The characters like Mac heath and Polly pea chum became very famous. The Beggar's Opera was a political satire of elected Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and his government, as well as a satire of the Italian opera tradition. The Satire which is used in the play consists of three main aspects: The main aspects are the visual style, which satirized the Italian operatic form that was popular at the time; the social, which highlighted immorality and evil in English society; and the political, which focused its powers of observation on those in power. The Beggar's Opera offered something new to the cinema public; instead of Mythology, it provided Reality. Gay choose common basic tunes to criticize what many British saw as excessively noble and fictional shows in Italian opera. Instead of the heroes and rulers of Italian opera, Gay's main protagonists are criminals and hookers.

At that time marriages are only for business purpose, women do not have any choice, at that time only wealth matters, So, Gay has also criticize and highlighted this so called desirable society, marriage, and the Italian operatic style. Gay's ballad opera satirized Robert Walpole and his government as well.  Mac Heath and Pea Chum, the central characters, were depicted as well-known offenders John Sheppard and Jonathon Wild, a controversial informant performed in 1725.

Pea Chum's actions as a criminal, cheater, and double-dealer were a direct shot at Robert Walpole, who was known as a brutal dictator and sinner. Pea Chum, who earns a living by capturing criminals despite the fact that he is a criminal himself, is used allegory to represent the stable and successful and apparently reputable working classes. No, one gives him punishment. The author defines his homeland's ethical weak points and suggests that all groups of people act similarly. He tells that its human nature to do corruption and still live together as it is well defined in the play.

The women in The Beggar's Opera appear to be anti-feminist texts, as they are the turning points for all of the events in the play. John Gay highlights the ridiculous nature of a group in society once more, as when Mrs. Pea chum expresses her dislike for Polly's choice of partner, Mac heath, “I thought the Girl was good born”. Here Mrs. Pea chum satire the marriages of the upper class because according to her they married only for the sake of Money. In the era of John Gay marriages are only for the sake of money. Love has no place before marriage, especially in the upper class. The women of the class are not given the right to choose their husbands, it was their parents who did that task.