The Threepenny Opera (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Bertolt Brecht
- First Published: 1929
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Social satire
- Time of Work: 1837
- Setting: London’s Soho district
- Principal Characters: MacHeath, Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, Celia Peachum, Polly Peachum, Tiger Brown, Lucy Brown, Ginny Jenny, Filch
- Genres: Satire, Drama, Epic
- Subjects: Values, Crime or criminals, Nineteenth century, Middle classes, Prostitution or prostitutes, Class consciousness, Poverty or poor people, England or English people, London
- Locales: Soho, London, England
The Story:
The criminal elements of London’s Soho district (thieves, beggars, and harlots) plied their various occupations while the balladeer sang about crime increases in the area, because of the reappearance of master criminal Captain James MacHeath (“Mack” or “Mackie the Knife”). The song concluded as Mack strolled down the street, causing occupants to quit their businesses and draw aside.
Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, as notorious as Mack, headed a beggar’s organization that played on the sympathies of wealthier citizens. Filch, an aspiring beggar, applied...
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See Also:
Bertolt Brecht (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Bertolt Brecht (Drama)Bertolt Brecht (Poetry)Bertolt Brecht (Dictionary of World Biography)Bertolt Brecht (Censorship)Bertolt Brecht (Short Fiction)
See Also:
- - The Threepenny Opera summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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