Week of April 14-19
Begin reading the first five chapters of Billy Budd. Answer the following questions as you read:
1. What tradition does Melville recall at the outset of the story?
2. What is being described as "motley retinue"?
3. What does the reader learn about Billy Budd?
4. Why is Billy elected by Lieutenant Ratcliffe?
5. How does the narrator describe the lieutenant?
6. How do the men aboard the Rights of Man feel about Billy?
7. What do you believe is the significance of the ship's name Rights of Man?
8. What is your explanation for the following quote: "Well, blessed are the peacemakers especially the fighting peacemakers!"
9. How does Billy feel about his enforced enlistment?
Questions for 21 April 2003
10. What is your explanation for the following quotation: "Like animals, though no philosopher, he was, without knowing it, practically a fatalist."
11. Describe Billy's new ship - significance of name, purpose, physical description.
12. Write the quote that compares Billy to his new shipmates.
13. When questioned about his place of birth and parentage, what is Billy's reply?
14. What imperfection does the Handsome Sailor possess?
15. What is the objective of the Indomitable or Bellipotent at the time of Billy's arbitrary enlistment?
16. When does the Great Mutiny occur?
17. Why do you suppose Melville relates the story of the Great Mutiny?
18. What does Nelson do on the brink of the opening fight at Trafalgar?
19. How does Melville characterize Nelson?
20. What is the general feeling aboard the Indomitable?
Assignment for 24-28 April 2002
Locate the following allusions, words, and phrases in Billy Budd Chapters 1-5. In your notes explain how they are used in their respective passages. For example, what kind of a duty is the dogwatch. What do sailors find themselves doing during this time?
Answer The dogwtach seems to be an assignmnet of light duty. During this time, sailors can talk and tell tales. I wonder, what exactly is the purpose of a dogwatch? What are the sailors watching? "...the sailor's dogwatch gossip concerning him [Claggart] derived a vague plausibility..." (B.B. 65). Claggart's history is unknown to the sailors and, more importantly, to me, the reader. I wonder if this passage can be connected to the one about landsmen? "...landsmen do their vices, so called, partake of crookedness of heart"(B.B.52).
Format your notes according to MLA style by citing page numbers after the passages.
1. man-of-war an armed army vessel.
*2. Aldebaran - bright red star in the eye of the constellation Taurus and the brightest of the Hyades.
*4. Anacharsis Cloots - The Baron de Cloots, according to Thomas Carlyle in his French Revolution, amassed a group of men from a variety of countries at the French National Assembly.
*5. pagod - an archaic spelling of "pagoda", meaning idol.
*6. Assyrian priests...grand sculptured Bull - Priests in Babylonia, a great kingdom on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, worshipped Baal, the god of fertitlity and rain, in the form of a great bull.
7. Murat - Joachim Murat (1767-1815), Napolean's mashal and King of Naples, gave himself airs in both dress and mannerisms.
*8. close-reefing topsails in a gale - climbing out on a yardarm during bad weather to tie up the sails so that they will not be ripped by strong winds.
*9. Flemish horse - a rope used as a foothold.
*10. Bucephalus - the favorite horse of Alexander the Great.
11. welkin-eyed - having eyes as blue as the sky.
*12. impressed on the Narrow Seas - forced to leave private employ and enter the royal nay while sailing the Irish Sea or the English Channel.
13. Bellipotent - The ship takes its name from an archaic adjective meaning "mighty in war".
*14. forecastle - the area on the bow (forward end) of the ship where the sailors live.
15. Irish shindy - a noisy brawl.
16. buffer of the gang - a malcontented or incompetent crew member.
*17. Capstan - an upright, revolving post around which rope is wound.
18. waxing merry with his tippple - becoming happily intoxicated.
19. hardtack - a ship's bisquits.
20. Apollo - the ancient Greek sun god revered for his physical beauty.
*21. cutter - a rowboat.
*22. coxswain - a steersman.
*23. taffrail - railing around a ship's stern.
24. rated as an able seaman - top ranking for a sailor, abouve "ordinary seaman" and "boy".
25. starboard watch of the foretop - a guard post on a platform at the front mast on the right side of the ship.
*26. dogwatch - a short period of duty between 4 and 6 p.m. or 6 and 8 p.m.
27. the Saxon strain - characterized by blond hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
28. halyards - ropes used to raise and lower sails.
29. the Graces - three sisters from Greek mythology who bestowed charm and beauty.
*30. by-blow - an illegitimate child.
*31. dance-houses, doxies, and tapsters...a "fiddler's green" - Dance halls, prostitutes, and bartenders create a sailor's paradise.
*32. Cain's city - In Genesis 4:17, Cain, a son of Adam, commits the first murder against his own brother, is exiled, and founds a city.
33. Caspar Hauser - a wandering youth of unknown origin who appeared in Nuremberg in 1828.
34. the good-natured poet's famous invocation - a quotation from Book IV of Martial's Epigrams.
35. one of Hawthorne's minor tales - "The Birthmark."
*36. the envious marplot of Eden - the serpent that tempted Eve in Genesis 3:4-5.
CHAPTERS 3-5
36. seventy-four - the number of guns on a medium-sized battleship.
37. frigates - smaller, lighter warships used for reconnaissance more than heavy fighting.
*38. Spithead - A straight between the Isle of Wight and southern England near Portsmouth
*39. the Nore - the mouth of the Thames river.
40. the bluejackets - slang term for English sailors.
41. strains of dibdin - songs composed by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814).
42. tars - a slang term for sailors.
43. a coronet for Nelson at the Nile...crowns for him at Trafalgar - rewards which Nelson earned for his victories
*44. became obsolete with their wooden walls - the refinements in cannons greatly affected the design of warships.
45. Benthamites - Utilitarians who, like Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), believed that pleasure is a major criterion of happiness.
46. Wellington - the famed soldier who brought about Napolean's downfall at Waterloo.
47. Alfred in his funeral ode - Alfred Lord tennyson, England's poet laureate, wrote "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington."
48. fustian - pompous, extravagant speech.
References to the Past SKIP THIS SECTION
Melville mentions several people, places, and events that readers should try to recognize. As you read the first five chapters of Billy Budd, locate references and place them under the appropriate headings. Use the numbered allusions and references above as well as reference books from the library to identify them. Also, try to interpret a meaningful connection between the reference and the text.
Countries: Name and state the purpose of the reference.
Authors: Name and state the purpose of the reference.
Mythological Characters: Name and State the relationship of the allusion to the story.
Historical Events: List the event and purpose of the reference.
Historical Figures: Name the figure and purpose of the reference.
Biblical References: Name the allusion and explain its use.
Famous Works: Name the work and state its relationship to the context.
Historical Ships: Name the ships and the state the purpose of the reference.
Nautical Terms
Billy Budd contains many nautical terms that may be unfamiliar to you. Define the following words as you read through chapter one, and expand the list as you continue to read through five. Try to visually imagine the workings of a ship and its crewmen.
1. tiller
2. groggeries
3. towpath
4. yardarm
5. foretopman
6. quarter-deck
7. forecastle
8. capstan
9. cutter
10. stern
11. bow
12. coxswain
13. taffrail
Vocabulary for Chapters 1-5 SKIP THIS SECTION
Part I Define each of the following words by copying and pasting from the xroads.virgina.edu link and refer to its context by citing its usage in the text. Please use MLA format
1. prosaic
2. homage
3. cynosure
4. impressed
5. scruples
6. corpulence
7. prudence
8. alacrity
9. vicissitude
10. terraqueous
11. obliquities
12. parleyings
13. insolent
14. pugnacious
15. plenary
16. parry
17. iconoclasm.
18. sagacious
19. fustian
20. abeyance
21. renounced
22. abrogation
23. insatiate
Read chapters 6-14
Visit the posted websites
Evaluate the posted websites
Discussion questions for the week of 28 April
1. Describe Captain the Honorable Edward Fairfax
2. What are his qualities as a sea officer?
3. Why is the captain known as Starry Vere? Why is he described as pedantic?
4. Describe the character of Captain Vere.
5. What is John Claggart's duty as master-at-arms aboard the Indomitable?
6. Describe Claggart.
7. Relate Billy's feelings when he witnesses his first formal gangway-punishment. As a result, what does Billy vow to do?
8. What petty trouble confronts Billy Budd?
9. To whom does Billy voice his concerns? Describe this person. What does Billy learn?
10. Relate the incident that involves Billy and Claggart.
11. What does Claggart mean when he says, "And handsome is as handsome did it, too?" What do you suppose this foreshadows?
12. How does the narrator account for Claggart's feelings toward Billy?
13. What role does Squeak play in Billy's dilemma?
Define each of the following words by copying and pasting from the xroads.virgina.edu link and refer to its context by citing its usage in the text. Please use MLA format.
1. prolific
2. intrepid
3. temerity
4. irascibility
5. inimical
6. pedantic
7. jocosely
8. equivocal
9. punctiliousness
10. sapience
11. incongruous
12. ursine
13. recondite
14. ruminating
15. vehemently
16. antipathy
17. juxtaposition
18. labyrinth
19. dotage
20. austere
21. auspicious
22. avaricious
23. depravity
24. wantonness
25. licentious
26. foment
27. sundry
28. contumelious
29. epithets
30. veracity
31. raillery
32. purveyor
33. prudence
34. clandestine
References/Glossary
1. free from cant
2. warrant officers
3. master-at-arms
4. niter and sulphor
5. Tecumseh
6. phrenology
7. keeping incog
8. prdue
9. chevalier
10. as much in sanctuary ... under the alter
11. harpies
12. the fallen Bastille
13. camoens Spirit of the Cape
14. quidnuncs
15. stun-sails
16. afterguardsman
17. that great spar
18. an old Dansker long anglicized in the service
19. Haden's etching
20. ursine
21. Jemmy Legs
22. Chiron ... his young Achilles
23. official rattan
24. Radcliffian romance
25. Jonah's toss
26. Coke and Blackstone
27. that lexicon which is based on Holy Writ
28. an ambidexter implement for effecting the irrational
29. Chang and Eng
30. Saul's visage ... the comely young David
31. groundlings
32. understrapper
33. an inordinate usurer
34. the Pharisee is the Guy Fawkes
35. Plato
36. Calvinism
Nautical Terms
1. under the lee of the booms
2. foremast
3. forechains
4. bulwarks
5. deadeyes
6. shrouds and backstays
7. disciplinary castigation over a gun
8. marlinspike
9. seventy-four
10. leeward
11. weather-side
12. lieutenants
13. commissioned gentlemen
14. officers
15. master-at-arms
16. lower gun
17. forecastle
18. foretop
19. yards
20. topmen
21. stunsails
22. gangway
23. afterguardsman
24. shot-box
25. upper gun deck
26. blue-jacket
27. Corporals
Monday 5 May 2002 Test Chapters 1-14
1-17 Discussion Questions Due 8 May 2003 Chapters 15-19
1. Summarize and analyze the incident with the afterguardsman.
2. Do you think Billy handled the situation well? Explain. What point is Red Pepper conveying?
3. Speculate on the following question: "Where could the fellow get guineas"
4. What are your thoughts when the narrator states, "the last man in the world .... to be overburdened with .... perilous thoughts"
5. According to the narrative, why doesn't Billy tell?
6. What does Dansker make of the situation?
7. Why do you suppose Dansker will not further explain the matter to Billy's understanding? What do you suppose long experience had taught him?
8. Why do you think Billy does not understand?
9. How does the narrator describe landsmen and seamen to be different? Where have we last seen this theme?
10. Explain: "There is something in the wind." What has been foreshadowed?
11. Why doesn't Billy believe Dansker?
12. Explain the glances of the two minor officers
13. What does Claggart tell Captain Vere?
14. What is Vere's reaction? How does he perceive Claggart? Provide a quotation that best exemplifies Vere's perception of Claggart.
15. What were Vere's intentions with Billy in regard to his duties? Why did Vere want to give Billy a different assignment?
16. What does Vere do about Claggart's accusation? What does he threaten to do to a "false-witness"?
17. Explain the allusion to Joseph's blood-dyed coat.
Chapters 20-31 Discussion Questions
1. For what reasons does Billy think he has been summoned to Vere's Cabin
2. What is Billy's reaction to claggart's accusation?
3. In what ways has his reaction been previously foreshadowed?
4. Is Billy able to defend himself?
5. What action does Vere take?
6. If the surgeon resisted Vere's order, what would result?
7. Describe the narrative's explanation of Vere's decision.
8. In what sense do the lieutenants share the surgeon's concern?
9. Who is the only witness in Billy's drum-head trial?
10. Why do you suppose Billy struck Claggart?
11. What question did the officer of the marines ask that Billy could not answer?
12. What does Captain Vere tell the court?
13. Describe the rituals of British naval procedure.
30 April Discussion Questions
1. Why is Billy's description in chapter 25 ironic?
2. What does the crew find unusual about Billy's hanging?
3. What happens to Billy's body?
4. What happens to the Indomitable after it joins the English fleet in the Mediterranean?
5. What are Vere's dying words? What were Billy's dying words?
6. What false information concerning the execution of Billy Budd appears in a naval chronicle?
7. What is the purpose of the last chapter?
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