Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728), its sequel Polly (1777), and 200 years later in Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (1928).[1] Even though written "Macheath", the name is pronounced as if it were "MacHeath".
Thomas Walker who created the role of Macheath in The Beggar's Opera, in character in a 1728 engraving
Macheath made his first appearance in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera as a chivalrous highwayman. He then appeared as a pirate in Gay's sequel.
He was probably inspired in part by Jack Sheppard who, like Macheath, escaped from prison and enjoyed the affections of a prostitute, and despised violence. His nemesis is Peachum who, in John Gay's original work, keeps an account book of unproductive thieves, something that Macheath does for himself in Brecht's work. Both characters can be understood as satires of Robert Walpole and Jonathan Wild.[2]
In Charles Dickens' novel, Little Dorrit, he is quoted by Bar, a lawyer attending a dinner party held by Mr. Merdle: "a high and solemn occasion, when, as Captain Macheath says, 'the judges are met: a terrible show!' We lawyers are sufficiently liberal, you see, to quote the Captain, though the Captain is severe upon us. Nevertheless, I think I could put in evidence an admission of the Captain's,' said Bar, with a little jocose roll of his head; for, in his legal current of speech, he always assumed the air of rallying himself with the best grace in the world; 'an admission of the Captain's that Law, in the gross, is at least intended to be impartial. For what says the Captain, if I quote him correctly—and if not,' with a light-comedy touch of his double eye-glass on his companion's shoulder, 'my learned friend will set me right:
'Since laws were made for every degree, To curb vice in others as well as in me, I wonder we ha'n't better company Upon Tyburn Tree!'"[3]
In The Threepenny Operaedit
In Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera, he is referred to as "Mack the Knife", and is the subject of the song of the same name. While his character plays roughly the same role as in the work it is derived from, Macheath is a much less romantic character here, described as a cutthroat, rapist and seducer of underage girls.
Referencesedit
^"Macheath Character Analysis". Litcharts.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
captain, macheath, fictional, character, appears, both, john, beggar, opera, 1728, sequel, polly, 1777, years, later, bertolt, brecht, threepenny, opera, 1928, even, though, written, macheath, name, pronounced, were, macheath, thomas, walker, created, role, ma. Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay s The Beggar s Opera 1728 its sequel Polly 1777 and 200 years later in Bertolt Brecht s The Threepenny Opera 1928 1 Even though written Macheath the name is pronounced as if it were MacHeath Thomas Walker who created the role of Macheath in The Beggar s Opera in character in a 1728 engraving Contents 1 Origins 2 In popular culture 3 In The Threepenny Opera 4 ReferencesOrigins editMacheath made his first appearance in John Gay s The Beggar s Opera as a chivalrous highwayman He then appeared as a pirate in Gay s sequel He was probably inspired in part by Jack Sheppard who like Macheath escaped from prison and enjoyed the affections of a prostitute and despised violence His nemesis is Peachum who in John Gay s original work keeps an account book of unproductive thieves something that Macheath does for himself in Brecht s work Both characters can be understood as satires of Robert Walpole and Jonathan Wild 2 In popular culture editCaptain Macheath is the chief protagonist of the 1841 Victorian penny dreadful Captain Macheath by Pierce Egan the Younger In Charles Dickens novel Little Dorrit he is quoted by Bar a lawyer attending a dinner party held by Mr Merdle a high and solemn occasion when as Captain Macheath says the judges are met a terrible show We lawyers are sufficiently liberal you see to quote the Captain though the Captain is severe upon us Nevertheless I think I could put in evidence an admission of the Captain s said Bar with a little jocose roll of his head for in his legal current of speech he always assumed the air of rallying himself with the best grace in the world an admission of the Captain s that Law in the gross is at least intended to be impartial For what says the Captain if I quote him correctly and if not with a light comedy touch of his double eye glass on his companion s shoulder my learned friend will set me right Since laws were made for every degree To curb vice in others as well as in me I wonder we ha n t better company Upon Tyburn Tree 3 In The Threepenny Opera editIn Bertolt Brecht s The Threepenny Opera he is referred to as Mack the Knife and is the subject of the song of the same name While his character plays roughly the same role as in the work it is derived from Macheath is a much less romantic character here described as a cutthroat rapist and seducer of underage girls References edit Macheath Character Analysis Litcharts com Retrieved April 30 2022 Moore Lucy ed 1997 The Thieves Opera New York City Viking Press p 227 ISBN 0 670 87215 6 Dickens Charles 2002 1857 Little Dorrit New York City Random House ISBN 9781588362230 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Captain Macheath amp oldid 1214593806, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
