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The Threepenny Opera Study Guide

by Bertolt Brecht

The Threepenny Opera study guide contains a biography of Bertolt Brecht, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The play opens in the beggar shop owned by Peachum. Peachum has taken control of all the beggars in London and runs a shop that outfits the beggars and provides them with a location to beg in. A young man comes in and asks for a job. Peachum makes the man pay him first and then shows the man the five states of human misery before giving the man a costume to wear.

When Mrs. Peachum arrives he asks her about his daughter Polly. She tells him that Polly has been seeing a gentleman lately. When she describes the man, Peachum realizes that it is none other than Mac the Knife, London's most powerful criminal. He runs upstairs and sees that Polly did not come home that night.

Meanwhile, Polly and Macheath have just broken into a stable where they…

Read the full The Threepenny Opera Summary

• The Threepenny Opera Summary
• About The Threepenny Opera
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis of Prologue
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 1
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 2
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 3
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 4
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 5
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 6
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 7
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 8
• Summary and Analysis of Scene 9
• Related Links on The Threepenny Opera
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Threepenny Opera: Essays
• The Threepenny Opera: Questions
• The Threepenny Opera: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Bertolt Brecht: Biography