The play opens with the song "The ballad of Mac the Knife", describing the bad deeds done by Macheth, who is also known as Mac the Knife and is the main character of this opera. He always wears white kid gloves although he has committed various crimes such as murdering, stealing cask boxes, setting a fire and raping a child-bride. Another important character of this play, Mr Peachum, then appears. He is in his own outfitting shop for begging. Anyone who wants to beg in London has to go to his shop and pays Mr Peachum some money first. Then, he will be allowed to beg in a certain location and a...

• Word Count: 986
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... events being performed on stage. This process is called Verfremdungseffekt, or the alienation effect, where instead of identifying with the characters, the audience is reminded that they are watching only a portrayal of reality. Several well-known Brechtian plays include Drums in the Night, Edward 2, The Threepenny Opera, Rise and Fall of the Town of Mahoganny, The Life of Galileo, The Good Person of Szechwan, Triple-A Plowed Under, One-Third of ... a Nation, Mother Courage and her children and the Caucasian Chalk Circle. A play whose dramatic structure and didactic purposes epitomises ...

• Word Count: 1075
• Approx Pages: 4