On what two ships did Billy Budd serve?

cat	Rights of Man and Bellipotent Apr 19 00, 4:21 PM

McGruff

I've found two questions with different answers, neither are referenced. Anyone know which is correct? Question #4334. mike asks: In 'Billy Budd' what were the two ships he served on? ------------------------------------------------------- Roxanne33 'The Indomitable' was one of them and I think the other was 'Rights-O-Man'. Jul 17 00, 5:47 PM Jul 28 07, 10:16 PM

zbeckabee

All THREE! Rights of Man AND Bellipotent/Indomitable. Melville uses Rights-of-Man as the name of the merchant ship from which Billy is seized, and the narrator of the novel comments that this ship's captain was a staunch admirer of Thomas Paine (Billy Budd, p. 297). In contrast, the captain of the Bellipotent, the ship to which Billy is taken, champions the rights of the state above the rights of man. The story thus echoes a controversy that was a subject of significant debate at the time. Billy Budd has an ignominious editorial history, as poor transcription and misinterpretation of Melville's notes on the manuscript marred the first published editions of the text. Some versions fail to correct the name of the ship to Bellipotent (from the Latin bella war and potens power), from Indomitable, as Melville called her in an earlier draft. http://vc.wscc.cc.tn.us/engl2265/CriticalPaper/billybudd1.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Budd Jan 27 08, 8:59 PM