John Gay, Bertolt Brecht, and urbanized opera

Book chapter

Merchant, P. 2020. John Gay, Bertolt Brecht, and urbanized opera. in: Tambling, J. (ed.) Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies Living Edition Palgrave Macmillan.
AuthorsMerchant, P.
EditorsTambling, J.
Abstract

Both the design and the detail of John Gay’s play The Beggar’s Opera (1728) serve to situate it solidly in Georgian London. A new urban sensibility permeates the work, and a means of treating “low” subject-matter is found that would blaze a trail for later writers. In particular, The Beggar’s Opera sows the seeds of its spectacular twentieth-century remaking by Bertolt Brecht. Brecht’s play responds to city culture as fully and as unflinchingly as Gay’s did.

KeywordsAdaptation; Artistic collaboration; Bathos and parodic contrast; Street ballads; Urban imaginaries; Urbanized opera
Year2020
Book titlePalgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies Living Edition
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Output statusPublished
EditionLiving Edition
ISBN9783319625928
Publication dates
Online17 Nov 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted29 Jun 2020
Deposited18 Jan 2021
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62592-8_269-1
Official URLhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62592-8_269-1
Permalink -

https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/8wv1z/john-gay-bertolt-brecht-and-urbanized-opera

  • 83
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

The whirl of the red, green, and blue: Christopher Anstey and the particoloured poem
Merchant, P. 2021. The whirl of the red, green, and blue: Christopher Anstey and the particoloured poem. in: Polyphony and the Modern, edited by Jonathan Fruoco New York and London pp. 232 - 246
John Gay and "Trivia"
Merchant, P. 2020. John Gay and "Trivia". in: Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies Palgrave. pp. n/a since initially publication is online only
Measure for measure: Shakespeare's city cartography
Merchant, P. 2020. Measure for measure: Shakespeare's city cartography. in: Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies Springer Nature.
The life of Betty Trask (1893 - 1983): fiction, fame, and Frome
Merchant, P. 2020. The life of Betty Trask (1893 - 1983): fiction, fame, and Frome. in: Frome Society Year Book, volume 23 Frome Frome Society for Local Study. pp. 70 - 78
Thomas Anstey Guthrie ("F. Anstey") (1856-1934)
Merchant, P. 2020. Thomas Anstey Guthrie ("F. Anstey") (1856-1934). in: Tambling, J. (ed.) Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies Springer Nature.
Getting the father back: the orphan's oath in Florence Marryat's Her Father's Name and R. D. Blackmore's Erema
Merchant, P. 2020. Getting the father back: the orphan's oath in Florence Marryat's Her Father's Name and R. D. Blackmore's Erema. in: Rereading Orphanhood: Texts, Inheritance, Kin Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press. pp. 167-185
Laurence Sterne and the zigzagging dragonfly
Merchant, P. 2018. Laurence Sterne and the zigzagging dragonfly. in: Nicolas, D. and Herbreteau, L. (ed.) Pérégrinations et métamorphoses: Échanges linguistiques et littéraires entre la Grande-Bretagne et la France depuis le Moyen Âge La Roche-sur-Yon Presses Universitaires de l'ICES. pp. 121-132
"With collies graven on his heart": The canine projections of Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934)
Merchant, P. 2018. "With collies graven on his heart": The canine projections of Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934). Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens. 88.
Review of The Journals and Poems of Marjory Fleming, ed. Leslie Robertson and Juliet McMaster et al.
Merchant, P. 2019. Review of The Journals and Poems of Marjory Fleming, ed. Leslie Robertson and Juliet McMaster et al. Journal of Juvenilia Studies. 2 (2), pp. 121 - 123. https://doi.org/10.29173/jjs41
"'What one sees another sees': synchronicity in the Juvenilia of Anna Kingsford and Richard Jefferies"
Merchant, P. 2019. "'What one sees another sees': synchronicity in the Juvenilia of Anna Kingsford and Richard Jefferies". Journal of Juvenilia Studies. 2 (2), pp. 102 - 116. https://doi.org/10.29173/jjs38
'Things seen and done otherwise': adaptiveness and the dynamics of difference in A. S. Byatt's 'Morpho Eugenia'
Merchant, P. 2019. 'Things seen and done otherwise': adaptiveness and the dynamics of difference in A. S. Byatt's 'Morpho Eugenia'. Culture Com'. (2).
Friedrich Dürrenmatt, “der tunnel,” and the dying of the light
Merchant, P. 2018. Friedrich Dürrenmatt, “der tunnel,” and the dying of the light. in: Marcheschi, D. (ed.) La Favola nelle Letterature Europee Pistoia, Italy La Petite Plaisance. pp. 117-124
"'Found out' in Dickens"
Merchant, P. 2018. "'Found out' in Dickens".
"Never too late to mend: Betty Trask's cotton glove country"
Merchant, P. 2018. "Never too late to mend: Betty Trask's cotton glove country".
"Not drowning but waving: the preservation of Annie Bonus' 'River-Reeds' (1866)"
Merchant, P. 2017. "Not drowning but waving: the preservation of Annie Bonus' 'River-Reeds' (1866)".
Desire and disenchantment in Gautier's "Arria Marcella" and Anstey's "Siren"
Merchant, P. 2018. Desire and disenchantment in Gautier's "Arria Marcella" and Anstey's "Siren".
Born to blush unseen: Betty Trask in Frome
Merchant, P. 2018. Born to blush unseen: Betty Trask in Frome.
Review of Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, ed. Janice Carlisle and of New Casebooks: “Great Expectations,” ed. Roger D. Sell
Merchant, P. 1997. Review of Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, ed. Janice Carlisle and of New Casebooks: “Great Expectations,” ed. Roger D. Sell. The Dickensian. 93 (1), pp. 53-55.
"'Saluting the Papal toe': veneration, renovation, and the sincerest form of flattery"
Merchant, P. 2016. "'Saluting the Papal toe': veneration, renovation, and the sincerest form of flattery".
"Mary Ward's 'Lady Connie' (1916) and the Decay of Only Connecting"
Merchant, P. 2017. "Mary Ward's 'Lady Connie' (1916) and the Decay of Only Connecting".
"Notes from Underground: Tunnel Resonance in Friedrich Dürrenmatt"
Merchant, P. 2016. "Notes from Underground: Tunnel Resonance in Friedrich Dürrenmatt".
"Scatter my words among womankind? Mary Eliza Haweis's Unextinguished Hearth"
Merchant, P. 2016. "Scatter my words among womankind? Mary Eliza Haweis's Unextinguished Hearth".
"Rescued by Rover: Terriers, Tenacity, and Thomas Anstey Guthrie"
Merchant, P. 2016. "Rescued by Rover: Terriers, Tenacity, and Thomas Anstey Guthrie".
"Trollope revisited."
Merchant, P. 2015. "Trollope revisited.".
"'As a child looks at a cake': hungering at Hope Farm in Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Cousin Phillis'"
Merchant, P. 2015. "'As a child looks at a cake': hungering at Hope Farm in Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Cousin Phillis'".
"Thomas Anstey Guthrie's gothic voices"
Merchant, P. 2015. "Thomas Anstey Guthrie's gothic voices".
"Per ardua ad Astor: the vicissitudes of Henry James's covering"
Merchant, P. 2015. "Per ardua ad Astor: the vicissitudes of Henry James's covering".
"'Does the road wind uphill all the way?' Christina Rossetti in Frome 1853-54"
Merchant, P. 2014. "'Does the road wind uphill all the way?' Christina Rossetti in Frome 1853-54".
Coloured by nostalgia: the juvenilia of Mary Eliza Haweis (1848-98)
Merchant, P. 2013. Coloured by nostalgia: the juvenilia of Mary Eliza Haweis (1848-98).
"Exploring 'Great Expectations.'"
Merchant, P. 2012. "Exploring 'Great Expectations.'".
"Dickens's suffering child and Anstey's fabulous mill"
Merchant, P. 2012. "Dickens's suffering child and Anstey's fabulous mill".
"Viewing a voiceless ghost: Scotland's 'walking spirits' and Johnson's highland fling"
Merchant, P. 2010. "Viewing a voiceless ghost: Scotland's 'walking spirits' and Johnson's highland fling".
"Excavation marks: Victorian broodings on 'the birthless past'"
Merchant, P. 2002. "Excavation marks: Victorian broodings on 'the birthless past'".
"Wedded to the ocean: Charles Dickens and the speech of the sea."
Merchant, P. 2000. "Wedded to the ocean: Charles Dickens and the speech of the sea.".
Review of Dickens Studies Annual 36
Merchant, P. 2007. Review of Dickens Studies Annual 36. The Dickensian. 103 (471), pp. 63-65.
Review of Dickens Studies Annual 35
Merchant, P. 2006. Review of Dickens Studies Annual 35. The Dickensian. 102 (468), pp. 56-58.
Review of Dickens Studies Annual 34
Merchant, P. 2005. Review of Dickens Studies Annual 34. The Dickensian. 101 (465), pp. 62-64.
Review of Thomas McGeary, 'Verse epistles on Italian opera singers, 1724-1736'
Merchant, P. 2004. Review of Thomas McGeary, 'Verse epistles on Italian opera singers, 1724-1736'. The Scriblerian and the Kit-Kats. 36 (2), pp. 160-161.
Review of Roxann Wheeler, 'The complexion of race: categories of difference in eighteenth-century British culture'
Merchant, P. 2001. Review of Roxann Wheeler, 'The complexion of race: categories of difference in eighteenth-century British culture'. The Scriblerian and the Kit-Kats. 34 (1-2), pp. 99-101.
Review of Frank Felsenstein, 'English trader, Indian maid: representing gender, race and slavery in the new world. An Inkle and Yarico reader'
Merchant, P. 2000. Review of Frank Felsenstein, 'English trader, Indian maid: representing gender, race and slavery in the new world. An Inkle and Yarico reader'. The Scriblerian and the Kit-Kats. 33 (1), pp. 47-48.
Greece in the romantic imagination: Trelawny, Byron, and the lure of myth
Merchant, P. 1985. Greece in the romantic imagination: Trelawny, Byron, and the lure of myth. The Greek Gazette. 19 (April), pp. 1-9.
Review of Timothy Webb's 'English Romantic Hellenism, 1700 - 1824' (Manchester University Press, 1982)
Merchant, P. 1983. Review of Timothy Webb's 'English Romantic Hellenism, 1700 - 1824' (Manchester University Press, 1982). The Greek Gazette. 17 (August), pp. 10-10.
Review of Colleen M. Conway, "Sex and slaughter in the tent of Jael: a cultural history of a biblical story," New York: Oxford UP, 2017
Merchant, P. 2017. Review of Colleen M. Conway, "Sex and slaughter in the tent of Jael: a cultural history of a biblical story," New York: Oxford UP, 2017. Nineteenth Century Gender Studies. 13 (2).
'Hast thou yet found a balmy spot...?': Mary Eliza Haweis (1848-98) and domestic felicity
Merchant, P. 2016. 'Hast thou yet found a balmy spot...?': Mary Eliza Haweis (1848-98) and domestic felicity. in: Owen, D. and Peterson, L. (ed.) Home and Away: The Place of the Child Writer Newcastle upon Tyne Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 28-45
Thomas Anstey Guthrie's Madhouse Shuffle: steps toward a nightmare scenario
Merchant, P. 2016. Thomas Anstey Guthrie's Madhouse Shuffle: steps toward a nightmare scenario. Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film (Online First). 42 (2), pp. 146-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748372715626721
"A kind of odour of Salem House": David Copperfield and Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Merchant, P. 2015. "A kind of odour of Salem House": David Copperfield and Thomas Anstey Guthrie. in: Merchant, P. and Waters, C. (ed.) Dickens and the Imagined Child Farnham Ashgate. pp. 131-147
Introduction
Merchant, P. and Waters, C. 2015. Introduction. in: Merchant, P. and Waters, C. (ed.) Dickens and the Imagined Child Farnham Ashgate. pp. 1-10
Review of Elena Paruolo, Le letterature per l’infanzia: ne parlano Peter Hunt, Jean Perrot, Dieter Richter, Jean Foucault, Anne Fine, Sandra Beckett, Roma, Aracne, 2014
Merchant, P. 2014. Review of Elena Paruolo, Le letterature per l’infanzia: ne parlano Peter Hunt, Jean Perrot, Dieter Richter, Jean Foucault, Anne Fine, Sandra Beckett, Roma, Aracne, 2014. MediAzioni: Rivista Online di Studi Interdisciplinari su Lingue e Culture.
Robert Paltock
Merchant, P. 2015. Robert Paltock. in: Day, G. and Lynch, J. (ed.) Encyclopedia of British Literature 1660-1789 Chichester Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 868-869
The writings and West Country world of Samuel Daniel (1562?-1619)
Merchant, P. 2012. The writings and West Country world of Samuel Daniel (1562?-1619). in: Macleay, A. (ed.) Frome Society Year Book 2012 Frome Frome Society for Local Study.
Spirited away: highland touring, 'Toctor Shonson' and the hauntings of Celtism
Merchant, P. 2013. Spirited away: highland touring, 'Toctor Shonson' and the hauntings of Celtism. in: Gibson, M., Trower, S. and Tregidga, G. (ed.) Mysticism, Myth and Celtic Identity Abingdon Routledge. pp. 142-152
“Breathed on by the rural Pan”: the atmosphere of Arcadia in Giono’s Regain
Merchant, P. 2008. “Breathed on by the rural Pan”: the atmosphere of Arcadia in Giono’s Regain. in: Bray, S., Gavin, A. and Merchant, P. (ed.) Re-Embroidering the Robe: Faith, Myth and Literary Creation since 1850 Newcastle Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 228-242
From Eliot to Dickens: the descent of the stone slab in Great Expectations
Merchant, P. 1999. From Eliot to Dickens: the descent of the stone slab in Great Expectations. The Dickensian. 92 (2), pp. 132-137.
Rehabilitating 'Lorna Doone': prospects and problems
Merchant, P. 1987. Rehabilitating 'Lorna Doone': prospects and problems. Children's Literature in Education. 18 (4), pp. 240-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01141755
'Great Expectations' and 'Elizabeth Villiers'
Merchant, P. 1997. 'Great Expectations' and 'Elizabeth Villiers'. Dickens Quarterly. 14 (4), pp. 243-247.
Robert Paltock and the refashioning of 'Inkle and Yarico'
Merchant, P. 1996. Robert Paltock and the refashioning of 'Inkle and Yarico'. Eighteenth-Century Fiction. 9 (1), pp. 37-50.
Arnold's sea of faithlessness: Margaret, the merman, and the cry of the children
Merchant, P. 1991. Arnold's sea of faithlessness: Margaret, the merman, and the cry of the children. Children's Literature in Education. 22 (4), pp. 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01139478
Snatched from the sea: the survival of 'Peter Wilkins'
Merchant, P. 1990. Snatched from the sea: the survival of 'Peter Wilkins'. Children's Literature in Education. 21 (2), pp. 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01464462
'Fresh instruction o'er the mind': exploit and example in Victorian fiction
Merchant, P. 1989. 'Fresh instruction o'er the mind': exploit and example in Victorian fiction. Children's Literature in Education. 20 (1), pp. 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01128037
'Breathed on by the rural Pan': the atmosphere of Arcadia in Giono's 'Regain'
Merchant, P. 2007. 'Breathed on by the rural Pan': the atmosphere of Arcadia in Giono's 'Regain'.
The Last of the Mohicans reconsidered
Merchant, P. 1993. The Last of the Mohicans reconsidered. Children's Literature in Education. 24 (2), pp. 85-100. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01131334
Magnifying martyrdom: Annie Bonus's Beatrice and the Victorian vision of the early church
Merchant, P. 1996. Magnifying martyrdom: Annie Bonus's Beatrice and the Victorian vision of the early church. Recusant History. 22 (2), pp. 222-230.
"Like a beacon left alone": the position of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market
Merchant, P. 1994. "Like a beacon left alone": the position of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market. Children's Literature in Education. 25 (2), pp. 67-81.
Double blessedness: Anna Kingsford and Beatrice
Merchant, P. 1998. Double blessedness: Anna Kingsford and Beatrice. in: Hogan, A. and Bradstock, A. (ed.) Women of Faith in Victorian Culture Basingstoke, UK Palgrave Macmillan.
Inhabiting the interspace: De Tabley, Judges, "Jael"
Merchant, P. 1998. Inhabiting the interspace: De Tabley, Judges, "Jael". Victorian Poetry. 36 (2), pp. 187-204.
Winking through the chinks: Eros and Ellipsis in Robert Browning's 'Love Among the Ruins'
Merchant, P. 2007. Winking through the chinks: Eros and Ellipsis in Robert Browning's 'Love Among the Ruins'. Victorian Poetry. 45 (4), pp. 349-368.
Tales told out of school: Anstey’s relation to Dickens and vice versa
Merchant, P. 2006. Tales told out of school: Anstey’s relation to Dickens and vice versa. The Dickensian. 102 (3), pp. 232-239.
"Mythology revisited": introduction
Merchant, P. 2008. "Mythology revisited": introduction. in: Bray, S., Gavin, A. and Merchant, P. (ed.) Re-Embroidering the Robe: Faith, Myth and Literary Creation since 1850 Newcastle Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 157-161