John Claggart
E533658
John Claggart is the malevolent master-at-arms aboard the warship in Herman Melville’s novella "Billy Budd," whose false accusations and obsessive hostility drive the story’s central tragedy.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Master-at-arms John Claggart | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
antagonist
ⓘ
fictional character ⓘ literary character ⓘ |
| accusationType |
conspiracy
ⓘ
mutiny ⓘ |
| accuses | Billy Budd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| allegiance | Royal Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appearsIn | Billy Budd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedTheme |
abuse of power
ⓘ
innocence versus evil ⓘ justice and law ⓘ psychology of malice ⓘ |
| authorWorkGenre |
sea story
ⓘ
tragedy ⓘ |
| causeOfDeath | blow from Billy Budd ⓘ |
| characterTrait |
deceitful
ⓘ
envious ⓘ malevolent ⓘ manipulative ⓘ obsessive ⓘ spiteful ⓘ |
| conflictWith | Billy Budd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| creator | Herman Melville NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| diesIn | Billy Budd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| ethicalRole | moral foil to Billy Budd ⓘ |
| firstAppearance | Billy Budd, Sailor NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| gender | male ⓘ |
| influencesPlot | drives story’s central tragedy ⓘ |
| languageOfWork | English ⓘ |
| literaryAnalysisNote | often interpreted as personification of innate depravity ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | 19th-century American literature ⓘ |
| medium | novella ⓘ |
| motivation |
envy of Billy Budd
ⓘ
irrational hatred of Billy Budd ⓘ |
| narrativeFunction | instigator of central conflict ⓘ |
| narrativeOutcome | death precipitates Billy Budd’s trial ⓘ |
| nationalContextOfWork | United States literature ⓘ |
| occupation | master-at-arms ⓘ |
| positionOnShip | in charge of internal discipline ⓘ |
| rankContext | warrant officer ⓘ |
| relationshipTo | Billy Budd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relationshipType | persecutor of Billy Budd ⓘ |
| role | antagonist of Billy Budd ⓘ |
| servesOn | HMS Bellipotent NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| settingContext | late 18th-century British warship ⓘ |
| symbolism |
corrupt authority
ⓘ
embodiment of evil ⓘ |
| workForm | novella ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Master-at-arms John Claggart