The Beggar’s Opera MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 24, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 17 min

The Beggar’s Opera MCQs

1. Peachum compares his trade to what other profession?

A. Priest’s work
B. Lawyer’s employment
C. Statesman’s policy
D. Surgeon’s practice

B. Lawyer’s employment.
Peachum states his employment is honest like a lawyer’s, as both act against and for rogues.

2. For which criminal does Peachum decide to “soften the Evidence”?

A. Tom Gagg
B. Black Moll
C. Betty Sly
D. Bob Booty

B. Black Moll.
Peachum says that since Black Moll is active and industrious, he will order matters to soften the evidence.

3. What is the final fate of the “lazy Dog,” Tom Gagg, recorded by Peachum?

A. Transportation
B. Guilty
C. Imprisonment
D. Set free

B. Guilty.
Peachum records Tom Gagg’s fate, noting he is “found guilty,” making his death without reprieve.

4. Why does Peachum say he prefers women to escape the law and hangings?

A. They pay better
B. Breed of the game
C. They are honest
D. He loves them

B. Breed of the game.
Peachum explains that a good sportsman lets hen Partridges fly because the breed of the game depends upon them.
5. According to Filch’s song, what is primarily required to win “suits of love”?

A. Virtue and Wit
B. Honest hearts
C. Law and truth
D. Pay and fees

D. Pay and fees.
Filch sings that suits of Love, like suits of Law, are only won by payment and beauty must be “fee’d into our Arms”.

6. What does Peachum hate in a rogue, preventing him from getting profits quickly?

A. Being rude
B. Being lazy
C. Being too clever
D. Being too honest

B. Being lazy.
Peachum says he hates a lazy rogue because he can get nothing from him “till he is hang’d”.

7. What is Slippery Sam’s intended honest employment that Peachum condemns?

A. A Lawyer
B. A Tailor
C. A Cook
D. A Sailor

B. A Tailor.
Peachum states Slippery Sam must hang because he has the impudence to follow his trade as a tailor.

8. What gift did Mrs. Peachum receive from her favorite customer, Bob Booty?

A. A gold watch
B. This Ring
C. A silk scarf
D. A new gown

B. This Ring.
Mrs. Peachum mentions that her favourite customer, Bob Booty, was the one who presented her with the ring she wears.

9. According to Mrs. Peachum’s song, what gives a condemned youth “the Air of a Lord”?

A. A fine horse
B. A charming zone
C. His health
D. His smile

B. A charming zone.
She sings that a rope, or a cord, beneath the ear is a “charming a Zone” making the youth look like a lord.
10. What is the fashionable crime that gentlemen commit, according to Peachum?

A. Larceny
B. Forgery
C. Murder
D. Robbery

C. Murder.
Peachum tells his wife that murder is considered as fashionable a crime as a gentleman can possibly commit.

11. Where did Captain Macheath leave his Bank-Notes with Mrs. Peachum?

A. In Newgate
B. At a tavern
C. With her last week
D. In a bagshot

C. With her last week.
Peachum asks his wife if Macheath was there that morning for the Bank-Notes he left “with you last Week”.

12. What type of establishments are ruining Captain Macheath financially, according to Peachum?

A. Gambling dens
B. Chocolate-houses
C. Pawnbrokers
D. Theatre houses

B. Chocolate-houses.
Peachum states that Macheath keeps too good company, specifying “Marybone and the Chocolate-houses are his Undoing”.

13. To whom does Peachum say he should leave morals and honesty?

A. The rich
B. His wife
C. The pòor
D. His daughter

C. The pòor.
Peachum implies throughout that morals are irrelevant to their business, especially to the wealthy.

14. What does Peachum compare Polly to if she marries Macheath and ignites easily?

A. A court lady
B. A slave
C. Tinder
D. Fine china

C. Tinder.
Peachum fears that Polly is “Tinder,” meaning a small spark (like marriage) will instantly set her on a flame.
15. What comparison does Mrs. Peachum use to describe how a wife is controlled by her spouse’s reputation?

A. A Mint
B. Golden Ore
C. A Guinea in gold
D. A silver shilling

C. A Guinea in gold.
Mrs. Peachum sings that a wife is like a Guinea in gold, stamped with her spouse’s name, current in every house.

16. Where was Filch’s post the night before he delivered the handkerchiefs to Mrs. Peachum?

A. At Newgate
B. The Opera
C. Drury Lane
D. Temple Coffee-House

B. The Opera.
Filch informs Mrs. Peachum that he “ply’d at the Opera” the previous night, making a tolerable haul.

17. Why did Filch fail to steal the Gold Watch he attempted to take?

A. A watchman saw
B. The fob was too deep
C. It was locked up
D. The owner fought

B. The fob was too deep.
Filch complains that the Tailors make the fobs “so deep and narrow,” causing the watch to stick.

18. What skill does Mrs. Peachum say she thought Filch had already lost?

A. Fear
B. Honor
C. Money
D. Manners

A. Fear.
Mrs. Peachum scolds Filch: “I thought, Boy, by this time, thou hadst lost Fear as well as Shame”.

19. What does Polly keep as “visible Marks of his Favour” from Macheath?

A. Jewels
B. This Watch
C. Bank-notes
D. Silk scarves

B. This Watch.
Polly tells her father that she has “this Watch and other visible Marks of his Favour” to show for her liberties.
20. What comparison does Polly use to describe a young woman whose virginity is lost?

A. Golden Ore
B. A Flower
C. A turtle
D. A Guinea

B. A Flower.
Polly uses the metaphor of a “fair Flower” that, once plucked, fades, shrinks, and is trod under feet.

21. What does Peachum threaten to do to Polly if he finds out she is married to Macheath?

A. Cut her throat
B. Sell her off
C. Lock her up
D. Beat her severely

A. Cut her throat.
Peachum warns Polly, “if I find out that you have play’d the Fool and are married, you Jade you, I’ll cut your Throat, Hussy”.

22. Mrs. Peachum says Polly’s folly makes her as ill-used as if she had married whom?

A. A beggar
B. A rich man
C. A lord
D. A lawyer

C. A lord.
Mrs. Peachum tells Polly she will be “as ill-us’d, and as much neglected, as if thou hadst married a Lord”.

23. Peachum states Macheath’s marriage presents two chances for a wife: getting rich or what?

A. Being betrayed
B. Dying
C. Escaping
D. Being found out

B. Dying.
Peachum suggests Macheath is in a fair way of either “getting, or of dying,” both being excellent chances for a wife.

24. How does Peachum try to force Polly to confess to her marriage?

A. He hits her
B. He pinches her
C. He yells loudly
D. He locks her up

B. He pinches her.
Peachum asks if Polly is “bound Wife to him” and then “Pinches her” to make her confess.
25. What is the real reason Polly married Macheath, according to her song?

A. Fear of chiding
B. Passionate love
C. Parental obedience
D. Seeking wealth

A. Fear of chiding.
Polly sings she married Macheath because she “thought it both safest and best / To marry, for fear you should chide”.

26. What item was lent to Suky Straddle to make a figure at a tavern in Drury Lane?

A. A gold sword
B. A piece of lace
C. A repeating watch
D. A silver snuff-box

C. A repeating watch.
Peachum told Polly to say they couldn’t get intelligence of the Repeating Watch, which he had lent to Suky Straddle.

27. According to Peachum, what substance is the “true Fuller’s Earth for Reputations”?

A. Love
B. Honesty
C. Money
D. Trust

C. Money.
Peachum claims that money is the “true Fuller’s Earth for Reputations,” capable of removing every stain or spot.

28. What kind of thief is Nimming Ned, according to Peachum?

A. A housebreaker
B. A fire salvager
C. A pickpocket
D. A shoplifter

B. A fire salvager.
Peachum praises Ned because he “saves more Goods out of the Fire than Ned”.

29. What is the ultimate “whole Scheme and Intention of all Marriage-Articles” for a woman?

A. Children
B. Widow-hood
C. Jointure
D. Fidelity

B. Widow-hood.
Peachum declares that the comfortable Estate of Widowhood is the main hope that sustains a wife’s spirits.
30. Peachum explains that having Macheath arrested for the reward is just business, not what emotion?

A. Fear
B. Malice
C. Greed
D. Envy

B. Malice.
Peachum justifies peaching Macheath by saying that, since taking robbers is their employment, “there is no Malice in the Case”.

31. What is the name of the executioner that Polly imagines hesitating to perform his duty?

A. Jack Ketch
B. Tom Gagg
C. Slippery Sam
D. Crook-finger’d Jack

A. Jack Ketch.
Polly imagines the execution scene where “Jack Ketch himself hesitates to perform his Duty” due to Macheath’s charm.

32. What reason does Polly cite for why Macheath’s love cannot change during absence?

A. He is honourable
B. He is pòor
C. Great Heroes never are false
D. She is beautiful

C. Great Heroes never are false.
Polly notes that in the romance Macheath lent her, “none of the great Heroes were ever false in Love”.

33. Macheath says tearing him from Polly is harder than tearing a fee from whom?

A. A Courtier
B. A Beggar
C. A Lawyer
D. A Soldier

C. A Lawyer.
Macheath provides three impossibility analogies, including that separating him from Polly is harder than taking a “Fee from a Lawyer”.

34. What substance does Matt of the Mint say the pirates’ fire surpasses the alchemists’ fire in creating?

A. Gold
B. Lead
C. Wine
D. Courage

A. Gold.
Matt sings that while chemists toil, the pirates’ fire surpasses theirs and “turns all our Lead to Gold”.
35. Macheath says that women, like the notes of what instrument, raise men’s spirits?

A. A trumpet
B. A drum
C. A fiddle
D. A flute

C. A fiddle.
Macheath sings that when a woman appears, “Like the Notes of a Fiddle, she sweetly, sweetly / Raises the Spirits”.

36. Which of Macheath’s mistresses is described as having a “sanctify’d Look” but a “mischievous Heart”?

A. Dolly Trull
B. Mrs. Vixen
C. Jenny Diver
D. Suky Tawdry

C. Jenny Diver.
Macheath affectionately calls Jenny Diver a “dear artful Hypocrite” with a sanctified look and a mischievous heart.

37. What does Macheath say cards and dice are only fit for?

A. Cowardly cheats
B. Fine ladies
C. Pòor men
D. Bawds and pimps

A. Cowardly cheats.
Macheath argues that cards and dice are “only fit for cowardly Cheats, who prey upon their Friends”.

38. Who rushes in to seize Macheath after being signaled by the women?

A. Lockit and Filch
B. Peachum and Constables
C. Matt and Ben Budge
D. Mrs. Peachum and Lucy

B. Peachum and Constables.
Jenny and Suky make signs to Peachum and Constables, who “rush in upon him” to effect the arrest.

39. After Macheath’s capture, what does Lockit demand from Macheath according to the custom of the prison?

A. His money
B. Garnish
C. A confession
D. His weapons

B. Garnish.
Lockit immediately greets Macheath, demanding, “Garnish, Captain, Garnish,” which is the customary jail fee.
40. What does Lockit tell Macheath the chains will fit as easily as?

A. A shoe
B. A glove
C. A ribbon
D. A sash

B. A glove.
Lockit, seeking a fee, boasts that the fetters are so well made they “will fit as easy as a Glove”.

41. What item does Macheath say is “sure to kill” a man who takes it?

A. Brandy
B. Woman
C. A rope
D. A pistol

B. Woman.
Macheath sings, “Who takes a Woman must be undone, / That Basilisk is sure to kill”.

42. How does Macheath try to assure Lucy that he is not married to Polly?

A. He blames Polly’s conceit
B. He shows her a letter
C. He swears on his honor
D. He pays her money

A. He blames Polly’s conceit.
Macheath claims Polly is “prodigiously conceited,” making her think he is hers whenever he says a civil thing.

43. Peachum says they are forced to encourage those who betray their friends, which makes their job like that of whom?

A. Great Statesmen
B. Lawyers
C. Courtiers
D. Surgeons

A. Great Statesmen.
Peachum notes that their employment may be dishonest because, “like Great Statesmen, we encourage those who betray their Friends”.

44. What is the subject of the account that Peachum and Lockit are discussing in the gaming-house?

A. The last year
B. The Coronation Account
C. Macheath’s fees
D. Filch’s thefts

B. The Coronation Account.
Lockit mentions that the “Coronation Account” is of such an intricate nature that it will likely never be settled.
45. What item does Peachum say the rich Brocade Tail was disposed of to Mrs. Trapes for?

A. Jewelry
B. Shoes and Slippers
C. Black Scarfs
D. Cambric

B. Shoes and Slippers.
The Brocade was sold to Diana Trapes, who will use it for “Shoes and Slippers, to trick out young Ladies”.

46. Mrs. Trapes claims she has been a great sufferer recently due to the Parliament’s Act for destroying what location?

A. Drury-Lane
B. The Lock
C. The Mint
D. The Old Baily

C. The Mint.
Mrs. Trapes complains that the Act for destroying “the Mint, was a severe Cut upon our Business”.

47. Lucy tries to poison Polly by urging her to drink a glass of what?

A. Water
B. Wine
C. Cordial
D. Beer

C. Cordial.
Lucy repeatedly insists that Polly, who claims to be low in spirits, drink the “delicious Cordial” (which is the rat’s-bane).

48. What does Macheath turn up (empty) to show his loss of courage right before his execution?

A. The glass
B. The pipe
C. The bottle
D. The pot

C. The bottle.
When Macheath cries “See, my Courage is out,” he demonstrates this loss by turning up the empty bottle.

49. Macheath’s final advice to Polly and Lucy is that they should ship themselves off for what destination?

A. London
B. The West-Indies
C. Scotland
D. The Old Baily

B. The West-Indies.
Macheath tells his wives to “Ship yourselves off for the West-Indies, where you’ll have a fair Chance of getting a Husband”.
50. Why does the Player insist that Macheath must be reprieved and not executed?

A. He deserves it
B. The plot is confusing
C. Opera must end happily
D. The audience protests

C. Opera must end happily.
The Player argues that the catastrophe is wrong because, in this kind of drama, “an Opera must end happily”.

Brief Overview

The Beggar’s Opera was first published by John Gay in 1728. It is a famous ballad opera known for its satire of Italian opera. The play addresses strong themes of corruption, hypocrisy, and the blurred lines between the criminal underworld and the political elite.

Peachum is a criminal receiver who operates like a dishonest statesman, profiting by turning in (peaching) his own gang members for reward money. He and his wife worry intensely when their daughter, Polly, secretly marries the famous highwayman, Captain Macheath. Peachum fears Macheath will gain control of Polly’s secrets or fortune.

Since the marriage ruins their family business plans, Polly’s parents decide to have Macheath arrested and executed for the reward money. Polly is horrified; she loves Macheath passionately and helps him escape their home to save him.

Macheath meets his gang members in a tavern. He is caught there when two of his many mistresses, Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry, betray him to Peachum and the Constables for the reward.

Macheath is sent to Newgate Prison. There, he is confronted by his other secret wife, Lucy Lockit, whose father is the Jailer. Lucy is jealous of Polly and tries to poison her when Polly visits the prison.

Lucy helps Macheath escape, but he is captured again soon after. Now, both Polly and Lucy beg their fathers to save Macheath, each claiming to be his true wife. Macheath faces execution at the Old Bailey. At the last moment, the Beggar and Player decide the opera must end happily. Macheath is reprieved, avoiding the gallows. He then chooses Polly as his only real wife.

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