Description: MR Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty by Greg Dening 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. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty have become proverbial in their capacity to evoke the extravagant and violent abuse of power. But William Bligh was one of the least violent disciplinarians in the British navy. It is this paradox that inspired Greg Dening to ask why the mutiny took place. His book explores the theatrical nature of what was enacted in the power-play on deck, on the beaches of Tahiti and in the murderous settlement at Pitcairn, on the altar stones and temples of sacrifice, and on the catheads from which men were hanged. Part of the key lies in the curious puzzle of Mr Bligh's bad language. Back Cover Selecting 40 invigorating excerpts from their exciting and popular books, Pastor Bill Johnson and his Bethel Church associates have created an excellent blend of rich, generous, fortifying spiritual inspiration. Author Biography <div><b>Greg Dening</b> is adjunct professor at the Center for Cross-Cultural Research at the Australian National University–Canberra and the author of <i>The Death of William Gooch</i>, <i>Island and Beaches</i>, <i>Mr. Blighs Bad Language</i>, <i>Performances</i>, and <i>Readings/Writings</i>.<br></div> Table of Contents List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Prologue; Act 1. The Ship; EntrActe: Sharks that walk on the land; EntrActe: Ralph Wewitzer: The First Captain Bligh; Act 2. The Beach; Act 3. The Island; Epilogue; Notes; Reference Bibliography; Index. Review This is a marvellous magical mystery tour we are offered, written in an allusive and quicksilver prose - no bad language here. The Times Higher Education Supplement "...after only a short time with Mr. Blighs Bad Language, readers will recognize that this is a truly major historical work that transcends Bligh and the Bounty voyage to confront much broader historical questions involving analysis, interpretation, and research." The Northern Mariner "As a stunningly original meditation on the illusions of power and possession, Denings study raises profound questions concerning the lessons of history and the uses of the past." Arkansas Democrat-Gazette "...works through the layers of myth and misrepresentation which rapidly gathered around Bligh following the mutiny, discussing the concerns people brought to this incident...All this makes fascinating reading and it is backed by exquisitely detailed research...Denings discussion of others works that bear on the actualities of seafaring and the attitudes of succeeding ages is alone worth the price of admission." Sea History "[Dening] has written a classic, an absorbing book likely long to remain the definitive analysis of the mutiny." Times Literary Supplement "Mutiny on the Bounty" summons to the popular mind images of violence and power on the high seas. Dening restores a sense of perspective in this fascinating study of the Bounty through images of space, language, and ceremony in Britains Royal Navy of the late 18th century....Dening provides excellent details of the daily life of seamen and officers from the perspectives of history and anthropology." Library Journal "Mr. Blighs Bad Language is quirky; Dening casts a net so wide one never knows what hell bring up next...On the other hand, the omnivorous approach also produces countless insights, provocative evaluations and fresh relationships, and is a genuine contribution to the literature of the subject." Boston Globe "Greg Dening has produced a powerful new account of an event that has, over two centuries, helped to define our modern understandings of tyranny and resistance. His tale about Bligh and the mutineers is imaginative and learned, engaging and entertaining, much to be enjoyed by anyone interested in the society and culture of wooden ships and iron men." Marcus Rediker, Georgetown University "A learned, humane, provocative creative reading of mutiny on the Bounty--the events; their meaning and representation in native lore, British life, the theater, and cinema; and their historical value. An engaging style and familiarity with political, naval, theater and film history, with anthropology, and with thinkers such as Foucault, Barthes, and Levi-Strauss enrich this celebratory narrative, as Dening calls it. A fascinating, essential chapter in the history of the Bounty." Kirkus Reviews "This is a post-Simon Schama history, told with the ambiguities of cultural analysis, and the excitements of fiction." The Observer "...stimulating, entertaining and informative analysis....The last of the many keywords...in Mr. Blighs Bad Language is claptrap, an eighteenth-century term which refers to that particular moment when a theatre audience acknowledged the brilliance of an actors performance by applauding spontaneously in the middle of a scene....In that it provided Greg Dening with the stimulus to write this splendid book, replete as it is with claptraps of its own, we, the audience, should be grateful that William Bligh so misinterpreted the part he was required to perform aboard the Bounty, that theatre of personal, cultural, and institutionalized conflict." David J. Starkey, International Journal of Maritime History Kirkus UK Review The very phrase The Mutiny on the Bounty is still a potent one, bringing up visions of the several films made of that extraordinary account: especially of Mr Blight, the ships brutal commander. Or was he especially brutal? This book is probably the most thorough account we are ever likely to have of the people and events on the Bounty, and the beaches of Tahiti. The books subtitle is passion, power and theatre on the Bounty, and there are all these in plenty. No-one emerges a hero, but the mistakes and miscalculations which comprised the major nautical melodrama of the 18th century. (Kirkus UK) Kirkus US Review A learned, humane, provocative "creative reading" of the mutiny on the Bounty - the events; their meaning and representation in native lore, British life, the theater, and cinema; and their historical value. An engaging style and familiarity with political, naval, theater and film history, with anthropology, and with thinkers such as Foucault, Barthes, and Levi-Strauss enrich this "celebratory narrative," as Dening (History/Univ. of Melbourne) calls it. The story is familiar but, Dening says, the emphasis, meaning, explanation, and value change depending on the point of view, the period, culture, and medium in which one represents the character of Bligh (a perfectionist who preferred to avoid physical punishment) and the sailors; the idea of discipline in the navy; the participants various expectations; the natives they encountered; the brutality and brutalization, abandonment and retribution; and the survivors colony on Pitcairn Island. In the theatrical terms Dening employs, the mutiny becomes an enactment of roles, a ritual representing universal experiences of sacrifice, deification, resurrection, possession, encounters between natives and strangers, and the ranging iconography of power as it appears among natives and seamen. Denings "cliometrics" (the statistics on corporeal punishment in the navy); his discussions of Jonas Hanway, of Captain Cooks adventures among the Polynesians, of the British popular theater, of the five films based on the Bounty (including the moral one in the 30s, the political one in the 60s, and the psychological one in the 80s); the encyclopedic knowledge he brings - all add conviction to his imaginative interpretations and demonstrate his proposition that "history is something we make rather than something we learn." A fascinating, essential chapter in the history of the Bounty. (Kirkus Reviews) Review Quote "...works through the layers of myth and misrepresentation which rapidly gathered around Bligh following the mutiny, discussing the concerns people brought to this incident...All this makes fascinating reading and it is backed by exquisitely detailed research...Denings discussion of others works that bear on the actualities of seafaring and the attitudes of succeeding ages is alone worth the price of admission." Sea History Promotional "Headline" An acclaimed and intriguing new interpretation of the mutiny on the Bounty. Description for Bookstore Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty have become proverbial in their capacity to evoke the extravagant and violent abuse of power. But William Bligh was one of the least violent disciplinarians in the British navy. It is this paradox which inspired Greg Dening to ask why the mutiny took place. Part of the key lies in the curious puzzle of Mr Blighs bad language. Description for Library Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty have become proverbial in their capacity to evoke the extravagant and violent abuse of power. But William Bligh was one of the least violent disciplinarians in the British navy. It is this paradox which inspired Greg Dening to ask why the mutiny took place. Part of the key lies in the curious puzzle of Mr Blighs bad language. Details ISBN0521467187 Author Greg Dening Pages 460 Publisher Cambridge University Press Series Cnto Language English ISBN-10 0521467187 ISBN-13 9780521467186 Media Book Format Paperback Year 1994 Publication Date 1994-03-31 Imprint Cambridge University Press Subtitle Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty Place of Publication Cambridge Country of Publication United Kingdom Residence AT Short Title MR BLIGHS BAD LANGUAGE REV/E Edition Description Revised DEWEY 359 Affiliation University of Melbourne Illustrations 10 Maps; 26 Halftones, unspecified; 4 Line drawings, unspecified DOI 10.1604/9780521467186 Audience General/Trade UK Release Date 1994-03-25 AU Release Date 1994-03-25 NZ Release Date 1994-03-25 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:91372358;
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ISBN-13: 9780521467186
Book Title: MR Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty
Number of Pages: 460 Pages
Publication Name: Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty
Language: English
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Item Height: 213 mm
Subject: Government, History
Publication Year: 1994
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 610 g
Author: Greg Dening
Item Width: 140 mm
Format: Paperback
