Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer and poet. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851), Typee (1846) and Billy Budd (that was published posthumously, in 1924). It is of interest to note that his reputation was not high at the time of his death and only some thirty years later did Moby-Dick start to be seen as one of the great American novels.
♟ | 1st August, 1819, New York City. ☠ | 28th September, 1891, New York City.
Melville was not financially successful as a writer. His travelogues based on voyages to the South Seas and stories based on his time in the merchant marine and navy led to some initial success, but his popularity declined thereafter and by 1876, all of his books were out of print.
Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.
Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound.
“To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee; For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.” –Herman Melville.
❝ It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
❞
–Herman Melville.
REFERENCES
Herman Melville, H. (1846). Typee. New York: Wiley and Putnam.
Herman Melville, H. (1847). Omoo. London: John Murray.
Herman Melville, H. (1849). Mardi. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Herman Melville, H. (1849). Redburn. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Herman Melville, H. (1850). White-Jacket. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Herman Melville, H. (1851). Moby-Dick. London: Richard Bentley.
Herman Melville, H. (1852). Pierre. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Herman Melville, H. (1855). Israel Potter. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Herman Melville, H. (1857). The Confidence-Man. New York: Dix, Edwards & Co.
Herman Melville, H. (1924). Billy Budd. London: Constable & Co.
Influences [1] // Critics note that Melville successfully imitates three Biblical strains: the apocalyptic, the prophetic and the sermonic narrative tone of writing. Melville sustains the apocalyptic tone of anxiety and foreboding for a whole chapter of Mardi (1849). The prophetic strain is expressed by Melville in various parts of the hugely influential 1851 Moby-Dick and, the tradition of the Psalms is imitated at length by Melville in The Confidence-Man (1857) — see, The King James Bible.Influences [2] // Literary historians have said that in 1849, Melville acquired an edition of Shakespeare’s works which led to a deeper study of Shakespeare that greatly influenced the style of Moby-Dick. The critic F. O. Matthiessen found that the language of Shakespeare far surpasses other influences for this key of Melville’s works or fiction. Indeed, it is said that on almost every page, debts to Shakespeare can be discovered — see all Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Anna Bidoonism 