"Cliff Notes - Billy Budd" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

does not twitch in muscle spasms, as is usual with hanged men, and
the crew takes this for a miracle. Captain Vere watches without
expression and then disperses the crew before they can protest.

Soon after Billy's death, the Bellipotent enters into a fight with a
French ship called the Atheist. Captain Vere is shot in battle and
dies some days later on land. His last words are: "Billy Budd."

Long after Billy's death, the sailors still remember him and even
keep the yardarm he was hanged from as a relic, as if Billy were
Christ and the yardarm, the Cross. One of his fellow foretopmen
commemorates Billy in a gentle ballad, and his story ends with this
simple poem.


BILLY BUDD: A NOTE ON THE TEXT OF BILLY BUDD

When Melville died in 1891, he left Billy Budd in the form of a
working manuscript, full of cross-outs and alternate word choices
and phrases. Since the book was first published in 1924, several
scholars have gone back to the original manuscript and tried to come
up with a text that is closest to what Melville intended. This is
why there are different versions of the text of Billy Budd, with
different titles, different chapter breaks, and many other minor
variations. One very noticeable difference is the name of the ship
on which the story takes place. In the earlier editions it is called
the Indomitable, while in the most recent edition it is called the
Bellipotent. This guide is based on the most recent edition, which
is considered definitive. Edited by Harrison Hayford and Merton M.
Sealts, Jr. and first published in 1962 by the University of Chicago
Press, its full title is Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative.)



BILLY BUDD: BILLY BUDD

Is Billy Budd for real--or is he meant to have only symbolic
significance? Your interpretation of the book will depend in part on
how you answer the question. One thing is clear: Billy Budd moves in
a different realm than either of the other two major figures in the
book, Captain Vere and John Claggart. There seems to be something
larger than life that sets Billy apart. It's possible that you know
someone who reminds you of him; but if you do, you probably keep
asking yourself if this friend is believable. People like Billy are
just not like the rest of us.

The first thing you notice about Billy is how handsome he is--a
blond, blue-eyed, 21-year-old with a perfect build, smooth rose-and-
tan complexion, and noble yet relaxed way of carrying himself. He's
more boyishly charming than sexy, but there's even more to his looks