Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theater on H. M. Armed Vessel Bounty - Softcover

Dening, Greg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521466660 ISBN 13: 9780521466660

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1993

Synopsis

"Captain Bligh" is a cliche of our times for the extravagant and violent misuse of power. In fact, William Bligh was one of the least physically violent disciplinarians in the British navy. That paradox inspires the author to ask why, then, did Bligh have a mutiny? Its answer is to display the theatricality of naval institutions and the mythologizing power of history. Mr Bligh's Bad Language is an anthropological and historical study of the mutiny on the Bounty, and its role in society and culture. Throughout the book, Greg Dening draws on a wide range of intellectual influences, ending with the cinematic versions of the mutiny in the twentieth century.

About this title

Book Description:

William Bligh was one of the least physically violent disciplinarians in the British Navy, why, then, did he have a mutiny? Mr Bligh's Bad Language is a study of the mutiny on the Bounty, and its role in society and culture. Greg Dening draws on a wide range of influences, including modern cinematic portrayals.

From the Back Cover:

Captain Bligh and the voyage of the Bounty are the starting point of this new study of the famous mutiny in history, literature and film. By juxtaposing an account of the mutiny with an analysis of its evolving place in history and culture, Mr. Bligh's Bad Language offers a new interpretation of the mutiny in the context of its historical and cultural representations. Beginning with an analysis of naval life and ritual aboard the Bounty, Greg Dening argues that the famous mutiny did not take place due to punitive violence, as Captain Bligh is shown to be one of the least violent of British Navy captains. Instead, he argues, Captain Bligh misunderstood the theatrical nature of shipboard life, especially his role as captain. Moving to a larger stage, the scope of the book shifts to the reception of the mutiny in England in the eighteenth century. Connecting the voyage of the Bounty with the cultural exploration and revolutions of the age, Greg Dening shows that a mythology arose almost immediately around the participants of the mutiny and their actions, a mythology that has been continually reinterpreted into twentieth century literature and film. Gracefully written, Mr. Bligh's Bad Language is an anthropological history of a new order, weaving the history of the Bounty with its role in our culture. Using a range of influences from Diderot to Foucault, Greg Dening reconstructs the voyage of the Bounty as moving between history and mythology, circumventing a dozen discourses.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0521466660
• ISBN 13: 9780521466660
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464