Melville's Fist: The Execution of "Billy Budd"

Abstract

The plot of Melville's Billy Budd is well known, and, like its title character, appears entirely straightforward and simple. It is a tale of three men in a boat: the innocent, ignorant foretopman, handsome Billy Budd; the devious, urbane master-at-arms, John Claggart; and the re spectable, bookish commanding officer, Captain the Honorable Edward Fairfax (Starry) Vere. Falsely accused by Claggart of plotting mutiny aboard the British man-of-war Bellipotent, Billy Budd, his speech impeded by a stutter, strikes his accuser dead in front of the Captain, and is condemned, after a summary trial, to hang. In spite of the apparent straightforwardness of the facts of the case, however, there exists in the critical literature on Billy Budd a notable range of disagreement over the ultimate meaning of the tale. For some, the story constitutes Melville's testament of acceptance,2 his ever lasting yea,3 his acceptance of tragedy,4 or at least his recognition of necessity.5 For others, Melville's final stage is, on the contrary,