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Billy Budd, Foretopman: An Inside Narrative by Herman Melville |
Teacher MaterialsGuide to Billy Budd -- The best of the best. Seton Hall University professors Edward R. Winans and James Paris summarize and analyze every chapter with the insight and expertise one always hopes for but seldom finds in teacher guides. Unfortunately, the site is blocked at my school because it resides inside a “Gay Books” * folder. I provide offline access through a PDF file. *Warning: Homoeroticism may need to be addressed. A clip from the Sopranos is oddly helpful. “Exploring Homoeroticism in Herman Melville’s Novella Billy Budd, Sailor” by Dana Sliva offers a critical perspective. Zachary Woolfe’s review of the opera, “Secret Desires in the Heart of Billy Budd,” addresses the same issue. |
The OperaBenjamin Britten’s opera, libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozierr, is frequently performed. The entire 1966 BBC broadcast is available on YouTube. BBC also offers a free 10-minute overview on iTunes as part of their Opera Guides series. Synopsis from the Metropolitan Opera. Los Angeles Opera website includes several exerpts, interviews, learn more link page, and audio/video files. Trailer. Production Trailer with audience reactons to the English National Opera performance. Glyndebourne Performance Interviews. Just the Trailer. Billy is a baritone, Claggart a bass, and Vere a tenor. Although Billy is the opera’s eponymous hero, the real focus of the work is the moral dilemma facing Captain Vere who, confronted with an agonising decision between saving Billy and his sense of duty as the ship’s Captain, is at the center of the opera. |
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Songs “Billy in the Darbies” (Poem & Activity) is the poem that ends the novella. Benedict Nelson performs a version from the Britten opera. Vinicio Capossela’s “Billy Budd” in Italian is his quirky performance of the same poem. His Italian lyrics are powerful. My re-translation back into English a little crazy. The Morrisey “Billy Budd” is less clearly related to the novella (lyrics). “Billy Budd” by Peacefield seems to be directly related to the novella, though something is amiss in the lyrics.
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Ancillary Texts
“Bartleby the Scrivener” is an irritatingly odd character whose compelling ambiguity seems relevant to the quirkiness of Billy Budd
Benito Cereno, a frightening insight into slavery, will forever enrich your reading of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (cited in the epigraph).
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TestsMy Composition Tests -- three versions. AP Timed Essay Prompts -- selected from previous Open Question Prompts. PowerPointsPowerPoints -- Short Introduction & Full Analysis Audio FilesThe usual free sites have not recorded Billy Budd, but iTunes has versions ranging from $1.95 to $13.95. |
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EnrichmentEnriched Classics packet Three Letters -- A wonderful assignment by Dixie Dellinger. Group Analysis -- Four interpretaive lenses for analysing the novella Billy Budd and the Law Discussion Questions -- a worthwhile focus for discussion. GrammarDog Sampler -- I love these materials! Grammar, usage, literary terms, style, and more taught using passages from the novells. Prestwick Unit Sampler -- Better for non-AP classes, but Essays would work for both. Full-Text Editions
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Criticism
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Prints by Ruth Oinn, inspired by the operas of Benjamin Britten, these from Billy Budd. |
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King of the Birds -- “The print symbolises the freedom and companionship Billy Budd feels as foretopman aboard the Indomitable before Claggart begins to work his evil.” (Ruth Oinn) |
The Darkness Comprehends – “This print visualises the struggle between Claggart and Billy, which Claggart inevitably wins. Claggart sees Billy’s goodness and is compelled to destroy him. I used the myth of the Kraken, all sailors’ worst fear, to symbolise Claggart.” (Ruth Oinn) | Fathoms Down Fathoms -- “Before his execution Billy dreams of how his body will sink into the twisting weeds. I have used the spiral of gold coins to represent him. He was, by Claggart’s own admission, “a beauty, a jewel, a pearl of great price” so gold seemed fitting. ” (Ruth Oinn) |
Enrichment: Other Melville Works |
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King of the Birds -- “The print symbolises the freedom and companionship Billy Budd feels as foretopman aboard the Indomitable before Claggart begins to work his evil.” (Ruth Oinn) |
The Darkness Comprehends – “This print visualises the struggle between Claggart and Billy, which Claggart inevitably wins. Claggart sees Billy’s goodness and is compelled to destroy him. I used the myth of the Kraken, all sailors’ worst fear, to symbolise Claggart.” (Ruth Oinn) | Fathoms Down Fathoms -- “Before his execution Billy dreams of how his body will sink into the twisting weeds. I have used the spiral of gold coins to represent him. He was, by Claggart’s own admission, “a beauty, a jewel, a pearl of great price” so gold seemed fitting. ” (Ruth Oinn) |
Updated 14 June 2019. I can maintain and expand this website only with your help. Back to Assignments or Home. |