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Luis Arevalo Prof. Terri Suess English 215 March 13th, 2012. Billy Budd and Romanticism The Romanticism was a literary movement that flourished in XIX century. It was a period that praises the individual, emotions, and also the nature. Although this period did not extend beyond the XIX century, people nowadays are able to feel it and to analyze it. That is the magic of literature. For example, in his book Literature to Go Michael Meyer -a professor at the University of Connecticut- states Literature allows us to move beyond the inevitable boundaries of our own lives and culture because it introduces us to people different from ourselves, places remote from our neighborhoods, and times other than our own (4). In fact, people can learn about the romantic period through his masterpieces. One of those masterpieces was wrote by Herman Melville and titled Billy Budd, Sailor. In this work Melville illustrated the nature of the man, the battle between the emotions and the reasoning, and also a vision of the society. First, people were supposed to born with kindness and gracious due to divine nature in the romantic period. However, there were people that do not become good neither by nature nor by the environment surround them. Perhaps a balance designed by heaven. In fact, Melville exposed how people can be good or bad by nature. Indeed, Melville explains how Billy Budd and Claggart symbolize the extremes of human nature. While Billy Budd is a handsome sailor, good person, helpfully, innocent, and also charismatic; Claggart is a good-looking person with a suspicious past, very smart, but with a spirituality and emotions covered by a dark side. For example, Melville states about Billy [He] was well received in the top and on the gun

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decks he was young owing to a lingering adolescent expression in the as yet smooth face all but feminine in purity of natural complexion (935), and about Claggart Melville says Claggart, in whom was the mania of an evil nature, not engendered by vicious training or corrupting books or licentious living, but born with him and innate, in short a depravity according to nature (952). In essence, Melville describes us the two sides of the coin. He is illustrating the opposite poles of the nature of a man: the good and the evil, the innocent and the malevolent. It also reminds us the divine balance between those two forces and how they confront each other to prevail. Secondly, the romantic period carried with it an arousal on humans feelings and emotions. Because of it, laws and social culture started to get issues separating the emotional judgments from the law-based ones. In Billy Budd, Sailor, the decision about condemn Billy to death penalty was really struggling due to the fact that although he committed an accidental homicide Billy was a really good person. A person that has not involved in any mutiny but he also charged with that. But in a time where the rule was the rule no matter what, justice could be unfair from a humanistic and emotional perspective. In fact, Melville illustrates this issue in Billys trial by saying: [Captain Vere] But the exceptional in the matter moves the heart within you. Even so too is mine moved. But let not warm hearts betray heads that should be cool [Marines Officer] But surely Budd proposed neither mutiny nor homicide[Captain Vere] Surely not, my good man in the forethought he threw out as to the practical consequences to discipline, considering the unconfirmed tone of the fleet at the time, should a man-ofwars-mans violent killing at sea of a superior in grade be allowed to pass for aught else than a capital crime demanding prompt infliction of the penaltyIn brief, Billy Budd

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was formally convicted and sentenced to be hung at the yard-arm in the early morning watch, it being now night(973-974). So, due the law is based on evidence and also in logic cause and effect Billy Budd has to be punished despite the emotional inference that the court and also the readers could have about it. In those times a crime was a crime no matter the circumstances. Claggarts death needed a guilty person, otherwise men could loss respect about laws and also authorities. Therefore, societies were still under certain political and religious oppressions, racism, discriminations, and taboos. The enlightenment period helps to diverse and expands the knowledge, but the romantic period pursued to increase the humanistic vision of the society. A society that was in silence looking for changes. Melville shows in certain way how some revolutions started due to moral and social values. In fact, in Billy Budd, Sailor Melville narrates how after Billy execution the sailors become uncomfortable with that situation and start to produce disapprovals murmurs. However, Melville also narrates how the sailors were controlled and forced to disregard those rumors and complains. For example, Melville states: True martial discipline long continued superinduces in average man a sort of impulse whose operation at the official word of command much resembles in its promptitude the effect of an instinctThe Drumbeat dissolved the multitude, distributing most of them along the batteries of the two covered gun decks (982). By stating this, Melville also gives a portrait about how government and church -the political and social authorities- use control and repression methods to avoid any kind of civil and social revolutions that claims societies with stronger sense of justice and humanism. Finally, I personally believe that through literature masterpieces people are able to travel on time and understand how societies evolve. Melvilles work Billy Budd, Sailor gives

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us a picture of the romantic period and some of the issues that were affecting the society. Issues relate with aspects such as the human nature and their emotions, the conscious against the reason, and how the society pursues of changes. Issues that surely contribute for the development of revolutions which changed the world beyond the XIX century.