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Act 1, Scene 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Beggar’s Opera, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Moral Corruption and Hypocrisy
Gender, Love, and Marriage
Class, Capitalism, and Inequality
Opera, High Art, and Performance
Summary
Analysis
Peachum privately debates which of his men to turn in for execution (and a £40 reward). Crook-Finger’d Jack has raked in plenty of gold and silver, and he’s witty and personable. Wat Dreary can’t be trusted, but he deserves a few more months to prove himself. Harry Padington is such a terrible thief that nobody will pay for his capture. If Slippery Sam quits stealing to become a tailor, Peachum will definitely turn him in. Matt of the Mint is new and promising. But Tom Tipple is “a guzzling soaking Sot” and should be hanged. The next name is Robin of Bagshot, who has several aliases, including Bob Booty.
Peachum’s soliloquy further underlines how immoral and depraved he is: he does not see any inherent value in human life, and he decides whom to save and kill based purely on profit. Of course, this is meant to reflect England’s overall moral degradation in the 18th century: John Gay surely thought that his nation’s political and economic elite behaved in just the same way as Peachum. In particular, Gay suggests that an economic system based on profit at all costs will inevitably brutalize and exploit people.
Themes
