Billy Budd: A Romantic Martyr

Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor constantly plays with the tenets of literary romanticism. The titular character, Billy Budd, is idealized, but only to an extent. Though presented as exuding senses of virtue and perfection, Billy’s otherwise beautiful character is marred by actions of violence and blatant passivity. However, at the end of the novel during his execution, Billy is ultimately portrayed in a divine light, presented as a romantic martyr akin to Jesus Christ. From this, Billy effectively leaves his corporeal form, transcending into a sort of legend for sailors, peculiarly free of his previous vice. This strange resolution concludes a pattern that manifests itself right from the beginning of the novel. I believe that the first

Regardless of “tribe” or “complexion,” everybody seems to share in the worship of this individual figure, who is presented as a divine “black pagod.” When others see him, they offer a “spontaneous tribute;” the spontaneity implies that they are overwhelmed by his image, immediately giving him a “pause and stare” without thought or consideration. Even without any indication of innate character, the sailor’s mere image instills a sense of deep and respectful reverence, also marked by the relative lack of “exclamation” in reactions. Furthermore, the reference to a deity of the Assyrians, highlights this lackingness. With the “motley retinue” acting as a parallel to the “priests,” the black sailor becomes a god in his own right, worshipped like the “grand sculptured Bull.” This is a strange comparison, given the sailor’s earlier elucidated lack of substance; he seems to have done nothing to deserve the worship he receives, yet he still does. Through this, it becomes evident that he is a being whose elevated image is simply just a construction of values from those around him, based solely on his image. Similar to the path of the black sailor, the third paragraph follows a familiar trend in its description of the “Billy-be-Dam.” Citing “strength and beauty” and “tales [of] prowess,” the paragraph culminates in a comparison to the powerful, legendary image of

Evoking images of purity, he is described as “welkin-eyed,” even given the innocent nickname of “Baby Budd” (44). Even now, he starts to cross the boundary from humanity into the divine, without any clear reason or justification for being able to do so; rather, he does so merely through how others view him. When comparing this first impression with the end of the novel, I believe that Billy is painted in a divine fashion in both part; the exalting diction remains constant between both parts. This highlights that for Billy, regardless of his actions leading up to the resolution of his story, he is destined to end pure. Any sense of justice delivered to him for his actions becomes effectively irrelevant given the resolution of his character. His becoming of legend is unsubstantiated by any true insight into his character; instead, it is defined by how those around him construct him to be, similar to the stories of the black sailor and the “Bill-be-Dam.” In, explicitly underscoring this trend, Melville truly criticizes the ethics of legends and myths. If they are based primarily on the superficial, do they hold any true value? Do they promote the superficial as a way to escape consequence? In this light, these stories are flawed, nothing more than products of superficial idolization rather than tales of moral