a play within a play with the Beggar and Player acting very much as observers of a performance of the play the Beggar has written; this character, and not the characters referred to in the story, is the fellow referred to in the title. What is realistic, however, is the social psychology of the characters, in so far as they bring to the surface the hypocrisy of what might be called mainstream society. To be sure, this is not to say that their statements are typical of those likely to be heard among the beggars of 1728 London. But once Gay has established the world of the beggars, ruled by Peachum, as the reality of the play, which might be called a meta reality, then he is free to exp
...