The play's main themes include justice, "mortality and mercy in Vienna," and the dichotomy between corruption and purity: "some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall."
Os principais temas da obra son a xustiza, a "mortalidad e a misericordia en Viena", e a dicotomía entre a corrupción e a pureza: "algúns álzanse polo pecado, e outros caen pola virtude".