Prologue

The prologue is the "Ballad of Mac the Knife", a song that is harsh and grating to listen to in the German. It is sung while beggars, prostitues and thieves are all enjoying a fair in Soho. The ballad describes many of the things that Macheath, known as Mac the Knife, has done. He is compared to a shark with sharp teeth, but unlike a shark he keeps his weapons hidden. Mac the Knife always wears fancy "white kid gloves" in spite of the atrocious crimes he has committed. The song indicates that Macheath is to blame for killing many men, stealing cash boxes, murdering a prostitute, setting a fire in Soho that killed seven children, and raping a young bride. At the end of the song the whores laugh and a man steps out of their group. As he walks away, Low-Dive Jenny cries out that that was Mac the Knife.

Analysis

The introduction of Mac the Knife immediately sets him up in contradictory terms. He is represented as a shark with bloody fins and hidden teeth, but at the same time he is described in terms of "white kid gloves". These white gloves, signs of pure hands, serve as a symbol of bourgeois society. Brecht is basically saying that Macheath covers his crimes by pretending to be bourgeois. Alternatively, this can also be interpreted as implying that bourgeois society commits the crimes and then pretends that nothing ever happened. Note that Macheath does not deny his crimes; instead, he acts as if nothing is wrong.

Scene One (Act One)

Peachum sings a morning "hymn", basically a call for thieves and beggars to start their "sinful employment". Peachum runs an outfitting shop for beggars; he provides them with props and slogans and is paid a part of their daily "take". He laments the fact that humans are able to deaden their feelings, forcing him to constantly create new ways of arousing human sympathy.

A man named Filch enters the shop. Filch complements Peachum on his fine slogans and signs and then tries to recite his sad life-story in an effort to get sympathy. Peachum harshly cuts him off and asks Filch if that is the same story he uses when begging on the street. Filch admits that it is, and that he was beaten up for using it the previous day. Peachum checks his notes and informs Filch that he was lucky to only get a beating considering he was begging without a licence in one of the best districts. Filch begs for a position, but Peachum explains that London is divided into fourteen districts and that he alone controls the licences for begging in London.

Filch pleads some more but Peachum tells him he must pay in order to get a position. Filch reluctantly agrees to pay and hands over his money, agreeing at the same time to share fifty percent of what he earns. Peachum then shows him five exhibits portraying the five basic types of human misery; each of the exhibits shows a beggar who has been harmed by some form of economic or political progress (such as a vehicular accident victim or a war veteran). Filch shows sympathy for one of the exhibits, causing Peachum to yell at him for showing emotions. Mrs. Peachum shows up (slightly drunk) and makes him change his clothes.

Peachum asks his wife where his daughter Polly is. She replies that Polly is upstairs. Peachum asks about the man who has been hanging around their place, and learns that Mrs. Peachum thinks he is a fine gentleman. Peachum rants that he does not want his daughter marrying anyone. He extracts more information from Mrs. Peachum, and learns that the man wears white kid gloves. Filch interupts them and they kick him out of the shop. Peachum then informs his wife that the "gentleman" is really Mac the Knife. He checks Polly's room and discovers that she never came home the previous night.

Mr. and Mrs. Peachum step in front of the stage and sing the song "No They Can't". It is a song about the fact that children cannot see what is good for them. Instead, the children fall in love and want to have fun. When the children fall in love and choose fun they eventually end up in "shit".

Analysis

Peachum introduces a common theme in Brecht's drama, the idea of deadened feelings. As Peachum indicates, humans are able to prevent themselves from feeling emotion towards other humans. This concept is prominent in Brecht's work Jungle of Cities, a play about a fight between two men who are desparate to pierce the "thick skin" that society makes people wear. In typical Brecht style, this complaint is delivered by a hypocrit; Peachum himself shows no sympathy towards Filch. He even goes so far as to order Filch to stop feeling sorry for others.

The conflict between Mac the Knife and Peachum is one that requires explaining. It is not an emotional conflict where Peachum is upset about losing Polly. Rather, it is a social issue. Peachum is in charge of all of London's beggars whereas Macheath is in charge of London's thieves. Stealing Peachum's daughter is thus a social affront, an attack on Peachum's status in the London underworld. The theft of Polly will cause Peachum to openly declare war on Mac the Knife in an effort to regain his reputation.

The irony of the song at the end of this scene is inherent in what has already been revealed to the audience. The parents are complaining that their children do not do what is "good", but rather what is fun. Love is blamed as well. However, these are terrible parents, hypocrites because Peachum does not want his daughter to marry even though he got married. They are lamenting the fact that Polly does not know what is good for her, as if staying with them were any better than marrying the leader of London's thieves.

The songs throughout this play are important because they represent a new style of theater. Operatic in presentation, they are nonetheless bawdy, cabaret style works that invert the common perception of opera. The songs serve as social statements by combining high culture with low; they also are an attack on traditional Wagnerian opera. The ballads also compete with the plot for attention, causing the audience to distance itself from the characters. This is Brecht's goal; he wants the audience to leave his play with a logical desire to change society. By forcing the audience to not empathize with the characters, Brecht is trying to make people think about the play rather than feel emotions.

Scene Two (Act One)

In the heart of Soho, Macheath and his gang have taken over a stable. Polly enters in a wedding dress and complains about the fact that it is stable rather than a fine building. One of Mac's gang, Matthew, tells Mac that this is the most daring "job" he has ever pulled, referring to the fact that Mac has stolen Polly from her parents. Polly complains again about the fact that are going to get married in a stable; she is further upset about the fact that Mac does not own the place.

Mac tells her that she will have everything she needs. A van pulls up outside the stable and the gang enters with lots of furniture, dishes and carpets. They transform the room and congratulate Polly and Mac on the pending marriage even while they describe the people they had to kill in order to steal the stuff. Mac insults them all, calling them cannibals for having killed people in order to get the stuff. Polly bursts into tears over the fact that people had to die in order to make her wedding pleasant. Mac meanwhile complains that the stuff is junk and that there are no chairs.

Polly, realizing that the gang has tried to make everything nice, starts to defend them from Mac's insults. They cut off the legs of harpsicord to turn it into a bench. While the men go to change into more formal wear, Polly worries what will happen if the Sheriff walks in and arrests them all since all the goods have been stolen. Mac tells her not to worry. The men return wearing fashionable evening dress, but their movements are not in keeping with it.

Matthew then congratulates the couple on behalf of the entire gang. He makes a sexual joke at the end and Mac knocks him to the floor, telling him to watch his language. Matthew gets angry and reveals that Lucy told him some of the filthy things Mac used to say to her. Mac only stares at him, causing the other men to quickly pull him away. They give the couple some presents, including a large grandfather clock. After the presents, they sit down to eat.

Mac yells at them for starting to eat before providing any sort of entertainment. He asks them to sing a song, but they refuse. One of them inadvertantly mentions Lucy again, causing Polly to ask Mac who Lucy is. The other men quickly avoid the topic and Mac orders one of them to guard the door. The man soon returns claiming the cops are there, but it is Reverend Kimball instead.

Mac makes the men sing a song and they do, but it is a song about a couple who get married without knowing who they are marrying and then the wife sleeps around. The men sing without much enthusiasm and Mac yells at them when it is over. Polly then comes forward and performs the "Pirate Jenny" song, a song about a wash-girl who is ignored by society. One day pirates arrive and take over the town. Jenny is placed in command and she orders the pirates to kill everyone.

Mac calls the song art but is not thrilled with Polly acting in front of the men. The Sheriff arrives, a man named Tiger Brown, causing the men to hide. Mac greets him like an old friend and introduces all of his men to Brown. They are frightened, having been to jail before in their lives, and are unsure of whether to trust Brown. Mac explains that he and Tiger Brown served in India together and have remained good friends ever since, with Mac giving Brown a kickback on whatever he steals. The two friends sing a "Cannon Song" about the war and then Tiger Brown says that he must get back to work in order to prepare for the Queen's Coronation.

The gang has one final surprise for Polly and Mac, a full bed that they have concealed in the room behind a carpet wallhanging. The men leave after Mac thanks them and he and Polly start to sentimentalize. However, instead of being sentimental, their words imply that they are not legally wed, everything was stolen, and their love may or may not endure.

Analysis

Much the way the first scene introduces Mac's "white kid gloves" in order to cover his bloody hands, this scene introduces the furniture into a stable. By transforming the stable into an exaggeratedly luxurious room, Brecht again is using bourgeois articles to hide the murders and thefts. The use of furniture is paralleled by the gang in suits, a comic image since they do not have the right manners. Thus we again see bloody deeds and bloody people parading around as if they were common, normal members of the successful society.

Implicit in this wedding scene is the irony that Mac is probably already married. Mac himself foreshadows the fact that he is already married: "For once I'm having a wedding, and how often does that happen? Shut up, Dreary!" He cuts his men off before one of them can say something to get him in trouble. There are two further slips of the tongue when the men reveal that Mac has a past history with a girl named Lucy, causing Polly to finally ask who Lucy is.

The songs in Brecht deserve some discussion because they are as famous as the play itself. Often they serve to break up the action and cause the audience to become unattached from the characters. This is evident in the first scene where Mr. and Mrs. Peachum sing a song under spotlight which has nothing to do with their real characters. This shifts slightly when Polly sings her "Pirate Jenny" song. The song has two interpretations: it can be seen as an analogy for Polly's own life, in that she is rescued by the thieves from her family of beggars, similar to the wash-girl getting rescued by pirates. It also has an interpretation based on Low-Dive Jenny, a prostitute who will later betray Mac. Jenny is unwilling to betray him but is pressured by Mrs. Peachum, who convinces her to take money. In Jenny's case she is also hoping to get saved by Mac's gang, but knows that she will not be; she therefore is willing to take money and turn Mac in.

Scene Three (Act One)

Polly returns home and is greeted by her very irate parents. Mr. Peachum remarks that after having paid a fortune to raise her, she threw herself away into the garbage. Polly sings a song in an effort to explain why she married Macheath. She talks about all her former "nice" suitors whom she turned down when they proposed marriage. However, when Macheath came along she did not know what to say so she said yes instead and married him. Peachum sarcastically comments that his daughter is now associating with criminals.

Mrs. Peachum calls for some wine and faints, but Polly happily goes and gets her the bottle. Peachum berates his daughter before turning back to business after five beggars walk in. He looks over the five men and helps the first four, but fires the fifth one for eating too much.

Polly meanwhile is rationalizing her decision to marry Macheath. She says she looked over his books and thinks that after a few successful "ventures" she will be able to retire with him to a country house. Peachum tells her that she should do what normal people who get married do, namely get divorced. When Polly argues she is in love, Mrs. Peachum states that Macheath has several other women who can claim to be his wife. She mentions hanging him, and after Polly leaves Peachum realizes that he can get Macheath hanged plus earn a good bounty in the process.

Mrs. Peachum says that she can take care of catching Macheath. She explains that he frequents a brothel and that she can bribe the women there to turn him in when he shows up again. Polly has listened in on the conversation and re-enters the room to tell her mother no to waste her time. She then explains that Mac and Tiger Brown are good friends. Peachum decides to take on Macheath and get him hanged. He sends Mrs. Peachum to the brothel while he and Polly go to see Tiger Brown. The scene ends with all three of them singing a song about the insecurity of the human condition. It discusses the fact that peoples' rights are not secure and that people are mostly poor.

Analysis

One of the themes that permeates Brecht's work is the concept that business is more important than family. His play Mother Courage epitomizes this concept, with Mother Courage losing her children while she conducts business with the soldiers. The same theme appears here, where Peachum chooses to work with the beggars in spite of the crisis of Polly getting married. Notice also that Polly quickly becomes secondary to the financial prospect of arresting Macheath: "That'll earn us forty pounds" says Peachum.

This theme is further reinforced by the arrival of the five beggars. The scene could easily exist without their appearance, but Brecht inserts them for several reasons. They primarily serve to show how focuses Peachum is on running his business. Second, Brecht introduces one of the most ironic moments in the play by having Peachum fire a beggar. The reader or observer does a double-take at this moment; after all, how can you become an out of work beggar except in a world where capitalism has taken over every aspect of society to such a degree that existence is no longer possible except within the system. Brecht subtly criticizes the excesses of capitalism by showing a world where even begging is a profession.

Love is made fun of by portraying it ironically. Normally a parent would be swayed by arguments of love, but Polly's parents instead advocate divorce for her. When she continues claiming that she is really in love with Macheath, Mrs. Peachum blames the books that Polly used to read. This attitude converts "love" into a form of business deal; there is no point in marrying unless you gain something financially. Polly realizes this and tries to point out to her parents that Macheath is financially well off, however, since he is a competitor to her father, Peachum chooses instead to take this opportunity to ruin Macheath.

Thus Peachum takes on Macheath not because Polly got married but rather because he sees the marriage as an attack against him. "Come to think of it, it shows that the fellow is really audacious. If I give away my daughter,... my house will cave in and my last dog will run off." As far as Peachum in concerned, Macheath has declared a war in the London underworld, and he will try to retaliate, even though he is up against great odds. Mrs. Peachum points out that Mac the Knife is the greatest criminal in London, a man who "takes what he pleases". This does not deter Peachum, who prepares to meet with Brown.

Scene Four (Act Two)

Polly arrives at the stable where Mac is currently living and tells him that he must leave immediately. She says that her father threatened Brown and forced him to issue an arrest warrent for Mac. Mac does not believe her until she produces the list of charges they have against him; it is a very long list with everything from murder to arson to underage sex. Macheath agrees that he should flee and tells her to take over the business for him. She tries to be sentimental but he brusquely interupts her and shows her the account ledgers. Mac then reads off a list of his men and tells her which ones to promote and which ones to send to jail.

He informs Polly that he is planning on switching into banking soon since it is safer and more reliable. He plans to turn the entire gang over to Tiger Brown once he does not need them anymore. Polly asks him how he can look his men in the eye and still plan on hanging them, but they walk in before he can complete his answer. Mac immediately acts friendly towards them. He tells them to go ahead and work without him during the Coronation. He lastly puts Polly in charge of the business.

Polly tries to take charge, but Matthew is reluctant to work for a woman. She turns on him and screams that if he ever says anything against her she will have the other men rip him to shreds. The other men applaud her. Mac then berates Matthew for drinking too much. He asks Matthew who set the Children's Hospital on fire in the last week (alluding to the seven dead children mentioned in the prologue). Matthew at first takes credit, but the other men all credit Macheath with the crime, thereby forcing Matthew to agree with them.

After the gang leaves Polly and Mac remain alone. Polly pleads with Mac to leave immediately and not to look at any other women while he is away. She is desperate to have him stay with her and laments the short time they have been together. Polly tells Mac that she had a dream in which she way the moon and it looked like "a worn-down penny". Mac promises not to forget her and leaves. Polly then comments that he will never return and sings a song about losing her lover.

Analysis

The fundamental theme that emerges is that business trancends love in this amoral, capitalist world. Mac the Knife tells Polly, "All right, if I've got to go away, you'll have to run the business." In spite of her tears, he sits down and goes over the ledger books with her. This replacement of love with business is a direct attack on capitalist society in which emotions are subordinated to fiscal transactions.

The reduction of love to mere business is furthered by Polly in her dream. She remarks that she dreamt about the moon, a symbol of her and Mac's love. The moon is equated to a "worn-down penny." This gives love two meanings and references, the first being that it equates love with capitalism. Second, love is compared to something old and not worth very much. This belief that love is worthless is held by all of the characters except for Polly who seems to the only character struggling to achieve worthwhile emotions. As the end of the chapter indicates, even she readily capitulates to the capitalist ideal and gives up on her love.

Mac is very adamant about taking credit for mistakes, especially mistakes committed by his men. This is a power struggle. The man who can take credit for mistakes can also takes credit for successes; Macheath is playing the part of a capitalist owner reaping the benefits of his ownership. Notice also that Brecht makes the interesting comparison to a university professor claiming credit for the students' work. Brecht is essentially accusing universities, who claim to be immune from capitalist influences in the sense that economic motive does not underlie their research, of being in some ways worse than the average factory owner.

Interlude (Act Two)

Mrs. Peachum and Low-Dive Jenny are together. She has convinced Jenny to turn Mac the Knife in to the police for ten shillings. When Jenny argues that Mac will not show up if he is being hunted by the police, Mrs. Peachum sings the "Ballad of Sexual Obsession". She describes that some men cannot control their urges and must go to prostitutes to satisfy themselves.

Analysis

This interlude is actually quite biographical. Brecht was usually unable to control his own sexual urges, having several mistresses at one time and also experimenting in bisexuality. The song was not sung in the original performance because the actress refused to perform it, but it does serve to foreshadow the fact that Mac the Knife will inevitably go to the whores. It also lends a new symbolism to the nickname Mac the "Knife", which now receives a sexual meaning, referring to the number of women Mac has had sex with.

Scene Five (Act Two)

A member of Mac's gang named Jake is in a brothel where he is telling the women that Mac the Knife would not be foolish enough to show up. No sooner has he made this claim than Mac walks in and surprises them all. Jake asks him why he is not in Highgate, running away, and Mac replies that it is Thursday and he will not let his problems interfer with his habits.

Low-Dive Jenny takes his palm and starts to read it. She warns him that someone with a name starting with a J will betray him. Mac laughs and tells her she is wrong, that the letter must instead be a P. Mac then diverts the conversation to discussing the whore's underwear, during which Jenny slips outside. Mac then starts to tell them all about his previous history with Jenny. He sings a song about his life with her called the "Ballad of Immoral Earnings". Mac describes how he used to live with Jenny and pimp her out to other men, but he describes the life nostalgically.

Jenny has meanwhile gotten Constable Smith and Mrs. Peachum and brought them to arrest Mac. She takes up the song and sings about how Mac would beat her up all the time. The then alternate verses, again making the past seem idyllic and nostalgic. Smith walks into the brothel and tries to arrest Macheath; Macheath knocks him down and jumps out the window. However, Mrs. Peachum is standing right where he lands and she has several constables with her. Jenny wakes up Jake, who was so engrossed in his reading that he did not even notice the arrest.

Analysis

Brecht ironically foreshadows Macheath's arrest by having Jenny read Mac's palm. She tells him the person who will betray him has a name that starts with a J, causing Macheath to instead claim it starts with a P. The audience already knows that Jenny is the real traitor, but the ambiguity causes several different people to be accused of betraying Mac. Recall that Tiger Brown is known as "Jackie", and his role later in the play shows that he too is forced to betray his friendship with Mac. The seen also cleverly includes Jake, Mac's henchman, who fails to help his boss when the constables arrive; this can be viewed as another form of betrayal. Interestingly, Macheath chooses to instead blame P. This also has multiple meanings and can mean either Polly or Peachum.

Brecht continues to make fun of bourgeois society by attacking its nostalgia. One of the main attributes of the middle class is a preference for an idealized past. This is reflected in a great deal of literature, with concepts such as the "golden ages", the "golden years", or the Romantic period playing a key role. Brecht attacks this naive view of the past by having Mac sing about his life with Jenny. Mac makes the couple seem idyllic even though it they live in a whorehouse. Jenny also wishes for the past again even while telling us how Mac used to knock her down the stairs. Thus Brecht uses the two of them to combine elements of bourgeois nostalgia with lower class crudity.

Jake does not notice the arrest of Macheath because he is too engrossed in reading the list of crimes that Macheath and the gang are accused of. His reading can be associated with wealth; reading is a pasttime or leisure enjoyed by the upper and middle classes, not the poor. Brecht thus implies that the middle classes are oblivious to the actuality of what is happening around them. Instead of being involved in events, people who read merely reflect on them; it is similar to a person reading about the weather in the newspaper rather than going for a walk outside. This sense of wonder that the bourgeois class experiences when "reality" confronts them is expressed by Jake, who remarks, "Good God! And me just reading, reading, reading...Well, I never!" He is shocked by the events that have taken place while ironically reading the arrest warrant. Thus Jake, engrossed in the past events, fails to see the present.

Scene Six (Act Two)

In the Old Bailey, the jail where Mac is being brought, Tiger Brown anxiously hopes that his friend has not been caught. However, he realizes that Mac is frivolous and will likely be foolish. When Brown hears sounds at the door he is worried that he will not be able to bear looking at Mac. Mac enters, accompanied by six constables. Brown tries to apologize to him but Mac's silence causes him even more grief and he leaves. Mac comments that he is glad he remained silent instead of shouting at Brown, and claims he got the trick from the Bible.

Smith enters with handcuffs. Mac immediately pulls out his checkbook and asks how much it costs to not wear any; Smith quotes a price and Mac pays him. Mac then remarks that his biggest worry is that Brown will discover the he has been playing around with Lucy, Brown's daughter. Smith tells him to deal with the problems he created. Macheath interrupts the action by singing the "Ballad of Good Living". The song describes how some people can live with starvation or by doing great deeds, but Mac claims he would rather just live well.

Lucy arrives and yells at Mac. She is furious that he married Polly. Mac pretends that he has only been with Polly a few times and claims that Polly is the one who made up the story of them being married. Lucy argues that he should make her an honest woman, implying that she is pregnant by him and that she needs to marry him to make the baby not be a bastard. Polly arrives at that moment and calls Mac her husband. Lucy becomes even more enraged and accuses Mac of having two wives. (Note: these "wives" are in name only; only Polly is legally married to Macheath). Mac tells them to both shut up, but instead they sing the "Jealousy Duet", a song in which they alternate lines and attack each other verbally.

After the song, Mac tells Lucy that Polly is just trying to come between them. Polly refuses to back down and argues that she is Mrs. Macheath. Lucy threatens her and Mac pleads with her, but all to no avail. Lucy points out that she is pregnant by Macheath, but Polly merely tells her that she should not have slept with him.

Mrs. Peachum arrives and drags Polly away. Mac takes advantage of the situation to tell Lucy that she is the only one he loves. He asks her to help him escape, and she happily gives him his cane and hat through the bars. After she leaves, Smith returns and tries to get the cane back. He is unsuccessful and Mac manages to escape. Tiger Brown shows up and rejoices.

Unfortunately for Tiger Brown, Mr. Peachum arrives and sees what has happened. Peachum has come to collect the reward for turning in Macheath. He is upset when he sees that Mac has escaped. As a result, he turns to Brown and threatens him. Peachum tells Brown a story about the coronation of Semiramis around 1400 BC. He says that the police chief in Nineveh committed a crime against the lower classes. As a result, the coronation was disrupted several times. Semiramis destroyed the police chief by feeding snakes on his flesh. After Peachum leaves, Brown hastily gets his men together.

Macheath and Low-Dive Jenny come out in front of the curtain and sing the "Second Threepenny Finale". The song argues that morals and missions are fine, but that food must come first.

Analysis

Brecht includes a very clever attack on religion in this scene when he has Mac comment that he got the trick of being silent from the Bible. This is brilliant sarcasm; Brecht is alluding to the fact that God has been silent for nearly two thousand years. This silence has led people to think that God is mad at them. They therefore have bad consciences and go out of their way to please God. It is amusing to find Macheath using the same trick, and it also serves to attack society for worshipping a deity that gives nothing but silence in return.

Macheath's dilemma of having two wives, Lucy and Polly, is interesting because of his immediate choice to reject Polly. Notice that Mac's rejection of Polly is actually necesary given his predicament. He must choose Lucy over Polly; Lucy is Brown's daughter and she could therefore destroy him if she revealed their relationship to her father. Since having Tiger Brown learn the truth is what Mac fears most, he naturally focuses his attention on Lucy.

The final moment, a confrontation between Peachum and Tiger Brown, is the first indication of how Peachum succeeded in getting Mac arrested. Remember that the first scenes implied that he would never be able to defeat Mac the Knife. Peachum's story about Semiramis indicates that he is leveraging his control over the lower classes. Basically his threat is that he will ruin the coronation ceremony if Brown does not hang Macheath.

The song that ends the act is one of the most famous. The line, "Food is the first thing. Morals follow on", serves as a basis for much of the action in this play. It is an attack on the audience. Instead of morally judging what Macheath, the beggars, the whores and the thieves are doing, the song tells the audience to sympathize with them. By putting food before morals, Brecht is issuing a call to his audience to consider the actual circumstances of the characters instead of judging them abstractly.

Scene Seven (Act Three)

Back at Peachum's house the beggar's are working frantically to prepare to disrupt the Queen's coronation ceremony. Peachum announces that over one thousand four hundred men are working for him at this moment; the men are scattered throughout London.

The whores, led by Jenny, arrive and demand to be paid for turning in Mac the Knife. Mrs. Peachum refuses to pay them, arguing that since Macheath has escaped she does not have to pay. Jenny, furious about not getting paid, tells them Macheath is a far better man than they are. She then foolishly tells the Peachums that Macheath showed up at her room and lay with her. Jenny lastly tells them that he is now sleeping over at Suky Tawdry's place (Suky is another whore, she is never present in the play). At hearing this news, Peachum immediately promises to pay the women. He sends Filch to have the police go arrest Macheath.

Mrs. Peachum sings the last stanza of the "Ballad of Sexual Obsession", indicating that even with the gallows hanging over him, Macheath still cannot escape from his desire to be with the whores. She brings the whores coffee and Peachum prepares to send his men to Buckingham Palace. At that moment Filch arrives and informs them that cops are already there. The beggars hide and Peachum confronts Brown.

Brown has come to arrest Peachum. He arrives with Smith and several other constables. After knocking off Peachum's hat, Brown starts to get annoyed with the friendly manner in which Peachum greets him. Brown orders his men to round up the beggars and tells Peachum that in order to prevent him from disrupting the coronation, he has decided to simply arrest all the beggars. Peachum points out the idiocy of this plan by telling Brown that there are far more beggars than there are cops. The "Song of the Insufficiency of Human Endeavour" is sung, a song about the fact that mankind can barely scratch out an existence in spite of his hard work.

Peachum informs Brown that the plan will never succeed due to the excess numbers of poor people. He asks Brown what it would look like if several hundred beggars are clubbed down in the streets. Brown realizes that he is being threatened but that he cannot stop Peachum. He agrees to arrest Macheath and sends Smith to Suky Tawdrys place. Peachum demands that Mac be hung by six o'clock that night and lastly sends his beggars to the jail instead of Buckingham Palace.

After Brown leaves, the scene changes and Jenny steps forward to deliver the "Solomon Song". This famous song claims that Solomon was wise and therefore realized that all his efforts were in vain. The next stanzas are the following: Cleopatra was lovely and whored herself to death, Caesar was courageous and got murdered, Brecht was curious and got driven overseas, and Macheath has sexual urges that are about to get him hung. The song thus rejects wiseness, beauty, courage, curiosity and sex and states in each stanza: "How fortunate the man with none!"

Analysis

Brecht's desire to make fun of religion runs rampant throughout this play and many of his other works. In this scene there is an explicit comparison of Macheath to Christ: Mrs. Peachum says, "Exactly. No thirty pieces of silver for you." She implies that Jenny is Judas, the disciple who betrayed Christ and sold him to the soldiers. It is difficult to draw the parallel much further, other than to realize that like Christ, Macheath is in charge of a band of men who worship him. Brecht probably saw further parallels by having his associate with whores, but the differences are too large to make any explicit analogy.

The greatest moment of irony up to this point is when Jenny sells out Macheath a second time while defending his honor. This paradoxical betrayal is almost comical; Jenny is so desperate to defend Mac that she gives away his location. The question arises as to why Jenny would be so foolish as to not realize her mistake. It actually seems as if Jenny is trying to get rid of Macheath but want to make it appear to be an accident. This would fit in with the fact that he used to beat her up; recall that she refers to his brutality while having the police arrest him the first time.

One of the more interesting comments in the play is when Peachum tells Brown can he can say what he wants to the Queen, but that he has no power over the poorest man in London. The factuality of this statement rests in the fact that Peachum essentially commands an army of beggars. This "humble" job, as he would say, yields him enormous control over every district of the city. There is nothing that happens in London that Peachum does not find out about, as exemplified by his knowledge of who Filch is in the very first scene.

Scene Eight (Act Three)

Polly takes a risk and visits Lucy in her home. She apologizes for the way she acted and comments that it is obvious that Mac loves Lucy more. Polly then explains that she had only known Macheath for five days before she married him. Every time Lucy nods in agreement and calls her "Miss Peachum", Polly corrects her and makes her say "Mrs. Macheath". Polly then comments that Mac felt no regret when her mother made her leave him. She asks Lucy for advice, but Lucy tells her she should have stuck with her own class of people.

Polly agrees that she should have done everything as if it were a business transaction. However, Lucy does admit that at least Polly is Macheath's wife on paper, even if not in spirit. She brings Polly some cake and tea and Polly looks around the apartment. Finally Polly reveals that the reason she came was to find out where Macheath is staying. Lucy claims she does not know and that she thought Polly would know. Polly bursts out laughing while Lucy cries when they both realize that Mac has stood them both up.

Lucy then admits to Polly that her pregnancy is all fake. Polly laughs even more and promises to give her Mac if he is ever found. There is a noise on the stairs and they realize that Mac has been caught again. Mrs. Peachum enters with widow's clothing and makes Polly change into it for the hanging.

Analysis

Polly's motives for visiting with Lucy are two-fold: she wants to ascertain where Macheath is staying and she wants to evaluate her competition. The fact that she apologizes when we know that she really hates Lucy shows her willingness to be a hypocrit. Ironically, it is Lucy that she brands, "the hypocritical strumpet" rather than herself.

Lucy brings up the issue of class for the first time in the play. "You should have stuck to your own class of people, dear Miss." Lucy is implying that Polly married outside of her own class. The question then is which direction did she marry, up or down? The answer is not obvious because her parents are actually in a similar profession to that of Macheath. However, Polly clearly interprets it as meaning that she married down. She elevates herself into the business class by stating, "I should have kept everything on a strict business footing." This line has another meaning, though. It serves to accuse the bourgeois class, i.e. the business class, of being unemotional and marrying only for money.

This falseness of love and marriage is dealt with throughout the scene. Lucy admits that she lied about being pregnant and shows Polly the cushion. At the end, Mrs. Peachum has the gall to enter and make Polly dress as a widow before Macheath is even dead. This brutal disruption of the sentimental interaction between Lucy and Polly serves to again make the audience feel less pity for Polly. The image of her as a sad, broken wife does not hold very long either; when Mac asks her for money in the last scene she is brilliantly evasive, implying that she has taken over his business and kept the money.

Scene Nine (Act Three)

The bells of Westminster start to ring, meaning that Macheath has only an hour before he is hung. He is brought on stage by Smith. One of the constables remarks that the streets are jam-packed with people (these are likely the beggars that Peachum ordered to go to the jail). He says that all the people who would have gone to the coronation are showing up for the hanging instead. Smith orders them to move faster and lock Macheath into a cell. Brown enters and asks if Mac is in the cell. He leaves without speaking to Mac.

Macheath then tries to bribe Smith by offering him a thousand pounds. Smith slowly refuses, indicating that he might take the money if Mac has it. Matthew and Jake then arrive and go to visit Mac, who chides them for taking so long. He asks them to give him all their money but they are unable to access their accounts since it is five in the morning. Smith interupts and asks what Mac wants for breakfast. Mac order asparagus.

After Matthew and Jake leave to see if they can get the money (which only amounts to four hundred pounds), Smith returns and asks Macheath if he has the cash. He tells him he only has four hundred; Smith shrugs and leaves. Polly soon arrives and forces her way in. She greets Macheath affectionately but chooses to talk about business instead of focusing on his plight. She also tells him that she has no money on her with which to help him. She breaks down and starts crying until Smith pulls her away.

Smith asks if Mac has the money yet and ushers Polly away when he realizes that Mac is not going to get the cash. He and Brown then bring Mac his asparagus. While in the cell, Brown agrees to settle up his accounts with Macheath (recall that Brown gets paid kickbacks for helping Mac committ crimes). When he pulls out his notebooks, Mac caustically comments, "Oh, so all you came for was to get your money before it's too late." They discuss the business and Mac tells Brown that he owes him thirty-eight pounds. Mac then quotes his future epilogue, causing Brown to get upset and leave him.

Smith asks for the money again and finds out that Mac does not have it. The Peachums, Jake and Matthew, Lucy, the whores, and the parson all arrive and stand next to Macheath's cell. Mr. Peachum approaches Mac and tells him that all he has left is his scar. Polly walks past in tears. Jake and Matthew inform Mac that all the other members of the gang are out stealing since it is the coronation day and they can earn a lot.

Mac delivers his last lines; he announces that the small theives are being swallowed up by the corporations backed by banks. His last words are to say goodbye to those present and to state, "So be it - I fall." Macheath then sings a song, the "Ballad in which Macheath begs all men for forgiveness". He asks ambitious men to forgive him, and includes the whores, the thieves, and the psychopaths in that category. However, he does not want the police employees to forgive him; in the end he prays that someone should bash in their faces before he asks them for forgiveness.

Mac is placed on the scaffold and Peachum delivers the last speech. In it, he says that although it would be the "Christian thing to do" to hang Macheath, they will not hang him since that ending might offend the audience. Instead, because this is an opera, Peachum indicates that a man on a horse will come to rescue Mac. Sure enough, Brown soon enters and delivers a message that the Queen has issued a royal reprieve. In addition, Macheath is made a hereditary knight and given a castle. Mac cheers at the news and Mrs. Peachum remarks that life would be nicer if such endings always occurred. Peachum then leads the company in the a song for the poorest of the poor, a song that argues that since poor people always face injustice they should not be persecuted for it. The Westminster bells can be heard ringing the last time in the background.

Analysis

Peachum changes his plans in the seventh scene and sends his beggars to the hanging rather than that coronation. This has two effects: all the people show up at the hanging rather than the coronation; second, Mac's people are unable to get through the mob to rescue him. Polly becomes his last chance, but he has already rejected her in the previous scenes. Thus when she arrives she refuses to give him money, claiming that it has all been sent to a Manchester bank. This is Polly's revenge; she keeps his money.

Macheath's choice of asparagus for his last meal is strange only because it is for breakfast. This vegetable is linked to delicacies, and is therefore a wealthy person's food. Thus even facing death Macheath is struggling to rise above his position in society.

The theme of business superceding sentimentality is again introduced. When Brown finally enters the cell, Mac chooses to settle up their business first. He even explicitly states, "No sentimentality". When Brown agrees, Mac yells at him for only caring about money. Mac then reads his own epilogue, infuriating Brown in the process by reminding his former friend that he has killed him.

Mac's final speech is quite important. In the speech he accuses big business of doing exactly what he does, namely being a thief. The only difference is that the big companies do it with more money and legally. Notice that this is what he was planning to do: Mac wanted Polly to take the money and set up a bank with it, thereby getting rid of his men and entering a more reliable business.

One of the questions which must be looked at is why Brecht has the official on a horse. This is the fairy-tale ending, meant to undermine our sense of justice at the end. The hero of a traditional opera always triumphs, and Mac is the hero of the play even if we cannot or do not want to identify with him. Mrs. Peachum says, "How nice and easy everything would be if you could always reckon with saviors on horseback." In her words we find Brecht's ironic commentary of what is obviously a fake ending.

The issue of class re-emerges when the Queen raises Mac to the hereditary peerage. By giving him a knighthood she elevates him into the highest class, the leisurely class of aristocracy with guaranteed income. This further undermines the issues of class present in the play; Mac manages to leapfrog the bourgeois society and lands comfortably in the aristocratic class. It also serves as yet another wry commentary on Brecht's own society which he saw rewarding people he considered to be criminals.

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