John Gay, Polly: An Opera. Being the Second Part of The Beggar's Opera

Ian Gordon (Anglia Ruskin University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1729

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Music (any)
- Classical Music
  - Opera

Resources

Gay wrote Polly in the second half of 1728, as a sequel to his hit success, The Beggar's Opera [see separate entry], which had broken all theatrical box-office records in London by running for sixty-two consecutive performances earlier in the year. He built Polly around the sentimental heroine of The Beggar's Opera, Polly Peachum, who had become the toast of the town, depicting her further adventures in the West Indies. The Beggar's Opera, however, had been too much of a political cause célèbre for government comfort, and, although Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, at whom much of the satire had been aimed, had succeeded in laughing off most of the jibes against him, he was, nevertheless,…

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1524 words

Citation: Gordon, Ian. "Polly: An Opera. Being the Second Part of The Beggar's Opera". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 February 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2626, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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