Literary Criticism - General & Miscellaneous, 19th Century American Literature - Literary Criticism
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Overview
Throughout his professional life, Herman Melville displayed a keen interested in the visual arts. He alluded to works of art to embellish his poems and novels and made substantial use of the technique of ekphrasis, the literary description of works by visual arts, to give body to plot and character. In carefully tracing Melville's use of the art analogy as a literary technique, Douglas Robillard shows how Melville evolved as a writer. In separate chapters Robillard deals at length with Redburn, Moby-Dick, Pierre, and Clarel. In briefer discussions he looks at the Piazza Tales and the shorter poems. His extensive history of what Melville saw, responded to, and valued offers new insights into Melville's creative processes.Editorials
Booknews
In tracing Melville's use of ekphrasis<-->the art analogy as a literary technique, Robillard (retired; English, U. of New Haven) follows the author's evolution as a writer: "I shall ere long paint to you as well as one can without canvas." In separate chapters, he demonstrates how Melville's considerable interests in 19th century visual arts emerged in the form and central characters of , , , , , and the shorter poems. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.Book Details
Published
December 31, 1997
Publisher
Kent, Ohio : Kent State University Press, c1997.
Pages
224
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780873385756