"The Portent" was originally published in 1866 collection of poetry entitled Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War. Other works by Melville that deal with the atrocities of slavery and political change/violence include Billy Budd, Moby Dick, and Benito Cereno.
Other works by contemporaries that speak to similar concerns have been written by Henry David Thoreau, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Frederick Douglass. Thoreau's account of the final days of John Brown's life and his hanging is included as one of the "Related Links" within this Lesson Plan.
