An anxious Polly uses vivid imagery in imagining Macheath, whom she has agreed to marry, as he is sentenced to death at court for his crimes:
Now I’m a Wretch, indeed.—Methinks I see him already in the Cart, sweeter and more lovely than the Nosegay in his Hand!—I hear the Crowd extolling his Resolution and Intrepidity!—What Vollies of Sighs are sent from the Windows of Holborn, that so comely a Youth should be brought to disgrace!—I see him at the Tree! The whole Circle are in Tears!—even Butchers weep!—Jack Ketch himself hesitates to perform his Duty, and would be glad to lose his Fee, by a Reprieve.
Though she is not describing any real scene that has yet occurred, she paints an emotionally charged picture of Macheath being brought to his execution. She draws from numerous senses, including hearing (the “Vollies of Sighs” issued by sympathetic onlookers) and sight (Macheath clutching a flower as he is drawn in a cart towards the noose.) Here, her imagination gets the better of her, and she even insists at multiple points that she can “see him already” there. This poignant imagery demonstrates the depth of her feelings for Macheath despite his untrustworthy and unfaithful nature.
