Herman Melville: An Introduction (Wiley Blackwell Introductions to Literature)

This unique introduction explores Herman Melville as he described himself in Billy Budd-"a writer whom few know." Moving beyond the recurring depiction of Melville as the famous author of Moby-Dick, this book traces his development as a writer while providing the basic tools for successful critical reading of his novels. Offers a brief introduction to Melville, covering all his major works Showcases Melville's writing process through his correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne Provides a clear sense of Melville's major themes and preoccupations Focuses on Typee, Moby-Dick, and Billy Budd in individual chapters Includes a biography, summary of key works, interpretation, commentary, and an extensive bibliography. Herman Melville......Page 1 Contents......Page 9 Texts and Abbreviations......Page 11 List of Illustrations......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Preface......Page 15 Part I Introduction......Page 19 1 Melville ’s Life......Page 21 2 “Agatha ” and the Invention of Narrative......Page 30 Part II Melville ’s Early Yarns......Page 43 3 “Making Literary Use of the Story ”:Typee and Omoo......Page 45 4 “A Regular Story Founded on Striking Incidents ”: Mardi ,Redburn ,and White-Jacket......Page 60 Part III Writing New Gospel in Moby-Dick and Pierre......Page 73 5 “So Much of Pathos &So Much of Depth ”:Moby-Dick......Page 75 6 “All Tender Obligations ”:Pierre......Page 101 Part IV Turning a New Leaf:Short Fiction, Israel Potter ,and The Con . dence-Man......Page 113 7 “A Leaf from Professional Experience ”:Short Fiction of the 1850s......Page 115 8 “Peculiarly Latitudinarian Notions ”:Israel Potter and The Con . dence-Man......Page 141 Part V Melville ’s Later Career......Page 153 9 “Fulness &Veins &Beauty ”:Battle-Pieces and Clarel......Page 155 10 “Different Considerations ”:Late Poetry......Page 178 11 “Instinct with Signi . cance ”:Billy Budd......Page 193 Afterword:“Restoring To You Your Own Property ”: Owning Melville......Page 206 Appendix:The “Agatha ” Correspondence......Page 209 Notes......Page 218 Bibliography......Page 224 Index......Page 235 This unique introduction explores Herman Melville as he described himself in Billy Budd - "a writer whom few know." Moving beyond the recurring depiction of Melville as the famous author of Moby-Dick, this book traces his development as a writer while providing the basic tools for successful critical reading of his novels. Using the extraordinary "Agatha" correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne as a key to Melville's writing practices, beliefs, and inclinations, the volume introduces Melville as a writer who constantly reflected on his craft and experimented with new forms and genres.

Arranged chronologically, the volume focuses on Typee, Moby-Dick, and Billy Budd, as well as other novels, short fiction, and poems, to explore Melville's distinctive narrative style. A biography, summaries of key works, interpretation, commentary, and an extensive bibliography are all included.

About the Author:
Wyn Kelley is a Senior Lecturer in the Literature Faculty at MIT

"This introduction explores Herman Melville as he described himself in Billy Budd - "a writer whom few know." Moving beyond the recurring depiction of Melville as the famous author of Moby-Dick, this book traces his development as a writer while providing the basic tools for successful critical reading of his novels. Using the extraordinary "Agatha" correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne as a key to Melville's writing practices, beliefs, and inclinations, the volume introduces Melville as a writer who constantly reflected on his craft and experimented with new forms and genres." "Arranged chronologically, the volume focuses on Typee, Moby-Dick, and Billy Budd, as well as other novels, short fiction, and poems, to explore Melville's distinctive narrative style. A biography, summaries of key works, interpretation, commentary, and an extensive bibliography are all included."--Jacket Moving beyond the recurring depiction of Herman Melville as the author of "Moby-Dick", this book traces his development as a writer while providing basic tools for successful critical reading of his novels. It focuses on "Typee", "Moby-Dick", and "Billy Budd", as well as other novels, short fiction, and poems to explore Melville's narrative style Arranged chronologically, this volume explores Herman Melville's distinctive narrative style on some of his novels, short fiction, and poems.--Book cover