John Warrack has noted that the work "confronts questions of stereotype on a wider scale" compared to Tippett's earlier operas, and also in a contemporary setting. Tippett himself put this line on a preface page to a published score of the opera, the opening of  François Villon's Ballade des pendus::
John Warrack has noted that the work "addresses questions of stereotype on a broader scale" compared to Tippett's earlier operas, and also in a contemporary context.  Tippett himself included this line on a preface page of a published score of the opera, the opening of François Villon's Ballade des pendus.