How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
And they'll ask: what kind of a bang was that?
And they'll see me as I stand beside the window
And they'll say: what has she got to smile at? (1.2.329-331)
In the "Pirate Jenny" song, Polly sings about being a barmaid who gets her revenge, big time, when a ship comes to town and blows the whole place to smithereens. The repetition of "And they'll…" makes the verse sing-songy and childlike, but the subject matter is actually quite violent.
Quote #5
POLLY. Perhaps there wasn't yesterday, but suddenly today there's an awful lot. You—I've brought the charges with me, I don't even know if I can get them straight, the list goes on so. You've killed two shopkeepers, more than thirty burglaries, twenty-three hold-ups, and God knows how many acts of arson, attempted murder, forgery and perjury, all within eighteen months. You're a dreadful man. (2.4.18-24)
Because Mac's such good friends with the chief of police, up until yesterday his violent acts had gone unpunished. But now they're all on the books, suddenly, and Polly's reading of the list brings to light just how bad old Mackie really is. The numbers seem absurd. That official record, compared to her moral judgment ("you're a dreadful man"), is hard to reconcile.
Quote #6
There goes a man who's won his spurs in battle
The butcher, he. And all the others, cattle. (2.4.187-188)
Who else could be the subject of this song but Mac? He's compared to a warrior who wins "spurs in battle," as though life were a war and Mac were winning it. The really creepy metaphor, though, compares Mac to a butcher and everyone else to cattle, which means that he has utter control over the lives of others and has no problem bringing those lives to an end.