Written in allusive and beautiful prose, many-layered, resonant with ideas and meanings, Billy Budd has inspired drama, films and opera and continues to elude interpretation.Billy, a victim of one man's unnatural hatred, is the embodiment of goodness destroyed by evil, but as 'the criminal pays the penalty of his crime, a greater justice comes into play.

The last great work of Melville's seafaring genius was Billy Budd, Sailor, set aboard H. M. S. Bellipotent.

When Billy, a handsome, unpretentious, stuttering young able seaman, is falsely accused of inciting mutiny, he lashes out, kills his accuser and is condemned to die. Written in allusive and beautiful prose, many-layered, resonant with ideas and meanings, Billy Budd has inspired drama, films and opera and continues to elude interpretation.

The main theme of the novel, however, is generally considered to be the vulnerability of innocence in a fallen world. Billy, a victim of one man's unnatural hatred, is the embodiment of goodness destroyed by evil, but as 'the criminal pays the penalty of his crime', a greater justice comes into play.