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Title details for The Beggar's Opera by John Gay - Available

The Beggar's Opera

by John Gay
ebook
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The great lords and powerful public officials of early 18th 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.
The Beggar's Opera is in the satirical tradition of Swift and Pope. Its enduring relevance was recognized two centuries later by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, who used it as the basis for their landmark musical, The Threepenny Opera. This attractive, inexpensive edition of an influential comic gem will be applauded by theater lovers, students of literature and history, and other readers.
Expand title description text
Series: Dover Thrift Editions Publisher: Dover Publications

Kindle Book

  • Release date: September 19, 2013

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780486153650
  • Release date: September 19, 2013

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780486153650
  • File size: 1636 KB
  • Release date: September 19, 2013

Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Drama Fiction

Languages

English

Levels

Lexile® Measure:1270
Text Difficulty:10-12

The great lords and powerful public officials of early 18th 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.
The Beggar's Opera is in the satirical tradition of Swift and Pope. Its enduring relevance was recognized two centuries later by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, who used it as the basis for their landmark musical, The Threepenny Opera. This attractive, inexpensive edition of an influential comic gem will be applauded by theater lovers, students of literature and history, and other readers.
Expand title description text
Drama Fiction
  • Details

    Publisher:
    Dover Publications

    Kindle Book
    Release date: September 19, 2013

    OverDrive Read
    ISBN: 9780486153650
    Release date: September 19, 2013

    EPUB ebook
    ISBN: 9780486153650
    File size: 1636 KB
    Release date: September 19, 2013

  • Creators
  • Formats
    Kindle Book
    OverDrive Read
    EPUB ebook
  • Languages
    English
  • Levels
    Lexile® Measure: 1270
    Text Difficulty: 10-12