There is a curious link that can be established in this play, it is that of, one of Gay’s characters in The Beggar’s Opera, Macheath, and Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost. The idea is to present the bond that joins their images within both works in terms of their behaviour.
The strategy that Gay uses is that of a creation of a male highway robber who is opposed to other characters’ attitude; so that everyone can see how he differs from other characters. In fact, he reacts in such an opening way that everyone can distinguish his honest actions. Therefore, he admits publicly that he steals but with this idea he can be shaped by everyone else as a person whose deeds are justified by the situation in which he is involved.
Afterwards we find another character in Paradise Lost, Satan, whose attitude is leading the reader to think of him as an almost complete hero. His character often appears to talk rationally and although we also see irrational speeches, his persuasive way of speaking contributes to the idea of being a heroic figure. He shares his pain all the way through so that he can be seen as a victim.
There we come to the joining point, two apparently different characters that can be seen as dupe figures because they are forced by the circumstances that surround them. They struggle to get what they want: money and destroying humankind respectively. Thus, any of them are complete embodiment of evil but characters who follow their instinct to get what situation is requiring from them.
