Gay’s Inversion of Ethics The Beggar’s Opera, by John Gay, is an excellent example of the satire prevalent in the Tory writers (namely: Gay, Pope, and Swift) of the time. Receiving the brunt of this mock-heroic play is First Minister Walpole, and the upper class Whigs in general. It is key to include a discussion of ethics when considering this play in historical context, for Gay uses the whores and thieves of Newgate …showed first 75 words of 1957 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1957 total…mentions, “my honor,” there is clearly a focus here on a word that has eve! rything to do with a study of ethics (Gay 2588). Gay is focusing in on a specific attribute of the plays hero, honor, which he obviously finds lacking in the courtiers. lending credence to the assertion that Gay has inverted ethics, making the highwaymen aristocrats and the courtiers the criminals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera. New York: Scribner Press, 1998.