Synopses & Reviews
Billy Budd is Herman Melville's most popular work after Moby-Dick. Melville wrote the novella during the five years before his death, and it was published posthumously in 1924. The essays collected here provide a multifaceted introduction to this major American work.
Synopsis
Billy Budd is Herman Melvilleâs most read work after Moby-Dick. Melville wrote the novella during the 5 years before his death, and it was published posthumously in 1924. The essays collected here provide a multifaceted introduction to the work. This collection will prove an invaluable resource for students of this major American writer.
About the Author
Donald Yannella is the author of American Prose to 1820 (1979), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1982), The Perfect Prodigy Melville on the Birth of Malcolm (1986) and Herman Melvilleâs Malcolm Letter (1992).
Table of Contents
Introduction Donald Yannella; 1. Melvilleâs indirection: Billy Budd, the Genetic text, and âthe deadly space betweenâJohn Wenke; 2. Billy Budd and American labour unrest: the case for striking back Larry J. Reynolds; 3. Religion, myth and meaning in the art of Billy Budd, Sailor Gail Coffler; 4. Old man Melville: the rose and the cross R. Milder; Selected Bibliography.