| Captain Macheath | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Macheath, Mack the Knife |
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First Appearance |
The Beggar's Opera (1728 |
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Created by |
John Gay |
Origin[]
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). 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.
His nemesis is Peachum who, in John Gay's original work, keeps an account book of unproductive thieves. Peachum discovered that Polly, his daughter, has secretly married Macheath, the famous highwayman, who is Peachum's principal client. Upset to learn they will no longer be able to use Polly in their business, Peachum and his wife ask how Polly will support such a husband "in Gaming, Drinking and Whoring." Nevertheless, they conclude that the match may be more profitable to the Peachums if the husband can be killed for his money. They leave to carry out this errand. However, Polly has hidden Macheath.
Macheath goes to a tavern where he is surrounded by women of dubious virtue who, despite their class, compete in displaying perfect drawing-room manners, although the subject of their conversation is their success in picking pockets and shoplifting. Macheath discovers, too late, that two of them (Jenny Diver, Suky Tawdry) have contracted with Peachum to capture him, and he becomes a prisoner in Newgate prison. The prison is run by Peachum's associate, the corrupt jailer Lockit. His daughter, Lucy Lockit, has the opportunity to scold Macheath for having agreed to marry her and then broken this promise. She tells him that to see him tortured would give her pleasure. Macheath pacifies her, but Polly arrives and claims him as her husband. Macheath tells Lucy that Polly is crazy. Lucy helps Macheath to escape by stealing her father's keys. Her father learns of Macheath's promise to marry her and worries that if Macheath is recaptured and hanged, his fortune might be subject to Peachum's claims. Lockit and Peachum discover Macheath's hiding place. They decide to split his fortune.
Meanwhile, Polly visits Lucy to try to reach an agreement, but Lucy tries to poison her. Polly narrowly avoids the poisoned drink, and the two girls find out that Macheath has been recaptured owing to the inebriated Mrs Diana Trapes. They plead with their fathers for Macheath's life. However, Macheath now finds that four more pregnant women each claim him as their husband. He declares that he is ready to be hanged. The narrator (the Beggar), notes that although in a properly moral ending Macheath and the other villains would be hanged, the audience demands a happy ending, and so Macheath is reprieved, and all are invited to a dance of celebration, to celebrate his wedding to Polly.
In the sequel, Macheath is transported to the West Indies, and becomes a pirate, disguised as a black man and under the pseudonym of 'Morano'. He is in the company of Jenny Diver, the prostitute from the first play who had betrayed him—so Macheath is living bigamously. Polly goes to the West Indies looking for Macheath. Mrs Trapes (also from 'The Beggar's Opera') has set up in white-slaving and shanghais Polly to sell her to the wealthy planter Mr Ducat. Polly is taken into service in the Ducat household. On hearing Polly's story, Mrs Ducat advises her to disguise herself as a young man, to ward off unwelcome male attention. After skirmishes between the Indians (in alliance with the colonials) and the pirates, the pirates are routed and identities are revealed. The play ends with Macheath being executed on the orders of the Indian King Pohetohee, and Polly marrying his son Cawwawkee, after her period of mourning.
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.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Captain Macheath from before January 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Opera Appearances[]
- The Beggar's Opera (1728)
- Polly (1777)
- The Threepenny Opera - German Ver. (1928)
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Captain Macheath (1841)
- Little Dorrit (1855-1857)
Notes[]
- Captain Macheath was probably inspired in part by the famous thief Jack Sheppard who, like Macheath, escaped from prison and enjoyed the affections of a prostitute, and despised violence.
- In the Captain Commando game from Capcom, there is an alien mummy named Mack the Knife.
- Mac Tonight was a character used in marketing for McDonald's restaurants during the late 1980s. The agency that created him was inspired by the song "Mack the Knife" and had the character play the tune in his commercials with new McDonald's themed lyrics.