“The angel must hang”

Billy Budd’s shipmates considered him the “handsome sailor” and everyone enjoyed his company. He was a good-natured person who saw no evil in people, as described in the following quote, “With no perceptible trace of the vainglorious about him, rather with the offhand unaffectedness of natural regality, he seemed to accept the spontaneous homage of his shipmates.”(2469) Billy was a good sailor and Captain Vere enjoyed him because he brought spirit and hard work to the ship, which his fellow shipmates caught onto. He is overall perfection to most people he knew and may even be considered an “angel”, which is why the following quote in important in the text.

Captain Vere’s quote during Billy’s trial, “Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!”(2504) is a significant quote to relate to the overall text because Billy was considered an angel by his fellow shipmates and no one would have believed that he was planning a mutiny against Captain Vere. I think the quote is very ironic because Captain Vere is talking about Billy as an angel, someone who is kind and heavenly, but is announcing that he will die.

Although Captain Vere is obligated to kill Billy because Claggart made him believe that Billy is planning a mutiny, I don’t think that he truly believes that Billy is guilty, as shown in Vere’s hesitation during the trial, “Captain Vere was now motionless, standing absorbed in thought.” Throughout the text of Billy Budd, I believe this quote has been greatly significant in explaining how Captain Vere felt about Billy and the mistake he made. Aside from the text, the quote is also significant in the allegory of Adam or Jesus.

**Reference: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol.8