The Beggar's Opera

 Bertolt Brecht, a German dramatist adapted Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" as a critical view in a capitalist world during WWII in Germany. Both plays ridicule  the aristocracy in the nature of high and low class, using the opera as an event where many high class people would have the opportunity to view the satirical play.

The timing of both plays in regards to economical changes within each country is interesting. Brecht  was immersed in Marxist thought after he became a Marxist, which heavily influenced his adaptation of "The Beggar's Opera". He saw the capitalist society as hypocritical and corrupt and suggested that since drama had been defeated by capitalism, art should be an agent for social change.

I think it is interesting how true that statement has been since the very beginning of writing for art's sake. Each poem, hymn, sonnet, play and so on is written to applaud, appease, or appeal some sort of social norm or social change. Sometimes I do not understand why there are so many adaptations of different plays or even movies, but through Gay and Brecht it is easy to recognize that each adaptation serves a different purpose in different economical and political settings.