Tag Archives: Beggar's Opera

Sane-Washing Vance and Mac the Knife

As I watched Vance sane-wash both Trump and himself in the debate, I thought of the sane-washing that occurs in Gay’s “Beggar’s Opera.”

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Awaiting the Verdict

Will Trump once again escape justice? An Emily Dickinson poem captures the sentiments of those of us who fear he will.

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Will Trump Pay? Literature Is Unsure

Will Trump escape all accountability? Literature weighs in.

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Jordan: Mac the Knife without the Charm

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan has all the effrontery of John Gay’s Mac the Knife, although none of the charm.

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Which Literary Conman Is Trump?

To understand Trump as conman, I compare him to the King and the Duke, Mac the Knife, Melville’s Confidence Man, Satan & Iago.

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On Mac the Knife & Presidential Pardons

Trump, like Mac the Knife, is an escape artist extraordinaire. Might a presidential pardon save him as a reprieve saves Mac?

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McConnell as Moriarty, Trump as Figaro

Mitch McConnell is proving himself to be a veritable Moriarty in his ability to weave devious plots to get his way. Trump, by contrast, is more a trickster figure a la Figaro or Mac the Knife.

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Trump & Mac the Knife, 2 Escape Artists

Donald Trump’s apparent ability to escape unscathed from gaffes and revelations that would sink any other campaign invites comparison with Mac the Knife, John Gay’s glamorous escape artist from “Beggar’s Opera.”

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Style, Not Truth, the Important Thing

Truth was missing in action in the GOP’s Wednesday night debate. Oscar Wilde and John Gay would have understood.

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