The story of the mutiny of the
_Bounty_, which is faithfully related in the first canto, is not, as the
second title implies, a prelude to the "Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades," but to a description of "The Island," an Ogygia of the South
Seas.
_Bounty_, which is faithfully related in the first canto, is not, as the
second title implies, a prelude to the "Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades," but to a description of "The Island," an Ogygia of the South
Seas.
Byron
The MS.
had been received in London before April 9 (_ibid_. , p. 192); and on
June 26, 1823, _The Island; or, The Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades_, was published by John Hunt.
Byron's "Advertisement," or note, prefixed to _The Island_ contains all
that need be said with regard to the "sources" of the poem.
Two separate works were consulted: (1) _A Narrative of the Mutiny on
board His Majesty's Ship Bounty, and the subsequent Voyage of . . . the
Ship's Boat from Tafoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch
Settlement in the East Indies_, written by Lieutenant William Bligh,
1790; and (2) _An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands_, Compiled
and Arranged from the Extensive Communications of Mr. William Mariner,
by John Martin, M. D. , 1817.
According to George Clinton (_Life and Writings of Lord Byron_, 1824, p.
656), Byron was profoundly impressed by Mariner's report of the scenery
and folklore of the _Friendly Islands_, was "never tired of talking of
it to his friends," and, in order to turn this poetic material to
account, finally bethought him that Bligh's _Narrative_ of the mutiny of
the _Bounty_ would serve as a framework or structure "for an embroidery
of rare device"--the figures and foliage of a tropical pattern. That, at
least, is the substance of Clinton's analysis of the "sources" of _The
Island_, and whether he spoke, or only feigned to speak, with authority,
his criticism is sound and to the point.
The story of the mutiny of the
_Bounty_, which is faithfully related in the first canto, is not, as the
second title implies, a prelude to the "Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades," but to a description of "The Island," an Ogygia of the South
Seas.
It must be borne in mind that Byron's acquaintance with the details of
the mutiny of the _Bounty_ was derived exclusively from Bligh's
_Narrative_; that he does not seem to have studied the minutes of the
court-martial on Peter Heywood and the other prisoners (September,
1792), or to have possessed the information that in 1809, and, again, in
1815, the Admiralty received authentic information with regard to the
final settlement of Christian and his comrades on Pitcairn Island.
Articles, however, had appeared in the _Quarterly Review_, February,
1810, vol. iii. pp. 23, 24, and July, 1815, vol. xiii. pp. 376-378,
which contained an extract from the log-book of Captain Mayhew Folger,
of the American ship _Topaz_, dated September 29, 1808, and letters from
Folger (March 1, 1813), and Sir Thomas Staines, October 18, 1814, which
solved the mystery. Moreover, the article of February, 1810, is quoted
in the notes (pp. 313-318) affixed to Miss Mitford's _Christina, the
Maid of the South Seas_, 1811, a poem founded on Bligh's _Narrative_, of
which neither Byron or his reviewers seem to have heard.
But whatever may have been his opportunities of ascertaining the facts
of the case, it is certain (see his note to Canto IV. section vi. line
122) that he did not know what became of Christian, and that whereas in
the first canto he follows the text of Bligh's _Narrative_, in the three
last cantos he draws upon his imagination, turning Tahiti into Toobonai
(Tubuai), and transporting Toobonai from one archipelago to
another--from the Society to the Friendly Islands.
Another and still more surprising feature of _The Island_ is that Byron
accepts, without qualification or reserve, the guilt of the mutineers
and the innocence and worth of Lieutenant Bligh. It is true that by
inheritance he was imbued with the traditions of the service, and from
personal experience understood the necessity of discipline on board
ship; but it may be taken for granted that if he had known that the
sympathy, if not the esteem, of the public had been transferred from
Bligh to Christian, that in the opinion of grave and competent writers,
the guilt of mutiny on the high seas had been almost condoned by the
violence and brutality of the commanding officer, he would have sided
with the oppressed rather than the oppressor.
had been received in London before April 9 (_ibid_. , p. 192); and on
June 26, 1823, _The Island; or, The Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades_, was published by John Hunt.
Byron's "Advertisement," or note, prefixed to _The Island_ contains all
that need be said with regard to the "sources" of the poem.
Two separate works were consulted: (1) _A Narrative of the Mutiny on
board His Majesty's Ship Bounty, and the subsequent Voyage of . . . the
Ship's Boat from Tafoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch
Settlement in the East Indies_, written by Lieutenant William Bligh,
1790; and (2) _An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands_, Compiled
and Arranged from the Extensive Communications of Mr. William Mariner,
by John Martin, M. D. , 1817.
According to George Clinton (_Life and Writings of Lord Byron_, 1824, p.
656), Byron was profoundly impressed by Mariner's report of the scenery
and folklore of the _Friendly Islands_, was "never tired of talking of
it to his friends," and, in order to turn this poetic material to
account, finally bethought him that Bligh's _Narrative_ of the mutiny of
the _Bounty_ would serve as a framework or structure "for an embroidery
of rare device"--the figures and foliage of a tropical pattern. That, at
least, is the substance of Clinton's analysis of the "sources" of _The
Island_, and whether he spoke, or only feigned to speak, with authority,
his criticism is sound and to the point.
The story of the mutiny of the
_Bounty_, which is faithfully related in the first canto, is not, as the
second title implies, a prelude to the "Adventures of Christian and his
Comrades," but to a description of "The Island," an Ogygia of the South
Seas.
It must be borne in mind that Byron's acquaintance with the details of
the mutiny of the _Bounty_ was derived exclusively from Bligh's
_Narrative_; that he does not seem to have studied the minutes of the
court-martial on Peter Heywood and the other prisoners (September,
1792), or to have possessed the information that in 1809, and, again, in
1815, the Admiralty received authentic information with regard to the
final settlement of Christian and his comrades on Pitcairn Island.
Articles, however, had appeared in the _Quarterly Review_, February,
1810, vol. iii. pp. 23, 24, and July, 1815, vol. xiii. pp. 376-378,
which contained an extract from the log-book of Captain Mayhew Folger,
of the American ship _Topaz_, dated September 29, 1808, and letters from
Folger (March 1, 1813), and Sir Thomas Staines, October 18, 1814, which
solved the mystery. Moreover, the article of February, 1810, is quoted
in the notes (pp. 313-318) affixed to Miss Mitford's _Christina, the
Maid of the South Seas_, 1811, a poem founded on Bligh's _Narrative_, of
which neither Byron or his reviewers seem to have heard.
But whatever may have been his opportunities of ascertaining the facts
of the case, it is certain (see his note to Canto IV. section vi. line
122) that he did not know what became of Christian, and that whereas in
the first canto he follows the text of Bligh's _Narrative_, in the three
last cantos he draws upon his imagination, turning Tahiti into Toobonai
(Tubuai), and transporting Toobonai from one archipelago to
another--from the Society to the Friendly Islands.
Another and still more surprising feature of _The Island_ is that Byron
accepts, without qualification or reserve, the guilt of the mutineers
and the innocence and worth of Lieutenant Bligh. It is true that by
inheritance he was imbued with the traditions of the service, and from
personal experience understood the necessity of discipline on board
ship; but it may be taken for granted that if he had known that the
sympathy, if not the esteem, of the public had been transferred from
Bligh to Christian, that in the opinion of grave and competent writers,
the guilt of mutiny on the high seas had been almost condoned by the
violence and brutality of the commanding officer, he would have sided
with the oppressed rather than the oppressor.
