Comment on Richard Weisberg's Interpretation of "Billy Budd"

Abstract

In his paper for this colloquium Weisberg amplifies the un orthodox reading of Billy Buddthat he offered in his book The Failure of the Word} There is also a shift in emphasis, from the alleged law lessness of the court-martial proceedings to the confrontation between Billy Budd and John Claggart, viewed as symbols of pagan Rome and Jesus Christ, respectively. Nevertheless the lawlessness is still insisted upon and is necessary to ground Weisberg's argument, much emphas ized in the present paper, that in condemning Billy Budd Captain Vere was acting out of envy for Admiral Nelson; so I shall discuss the alleged procedural errors in the court-martial. After criticizing Weis berg's reading of Billy Budd, I shall enlarge the focus and suggest a comparison between Vere on the one hand and Oliver Wendell Holmes on the other.2 For those whose recollection of the story of Billy Budd has dimmed, or who recognize that each re-telling places an interpretive gloss on the story, I offer a brief thumbnail sketch. Billy Budd has been impressed onto a British man-o'-war during the war between Britain and the French Directory (the interregnum between the Revolutionary regime and Napoleon). The British navy has recently experienced a serous mutiny and everyone is on the lookout for a recurrence, especially among impressed seamen. Claggart, a petty officer who is in charge of security on the ship, decides to frame Billy, and he therefore tells Captain Vere that Billy is a mutineer. Vere does not believe Claggart, and summons Billy to confront his accuser in the captain's cabin. Billy, who suffers from a speech impediment, is unable to respond to Claggart's accusations. Vere puts his arm on Billy's shoulder in a fatherly way and tells him that there is no hurry about speaking, but the enraged Billy strikes Claggart dead with a single blow. Vere convenes a drumhead court-martial, the members of