Herman Melville: Moby-Dick (Icon Reader's Guides to Essential Criticism)
by Nick Selby
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Icon Critical Guides Herman Melville- Moby-Dick On its publication in 1851, Moby-Dick baffled and enthralled readers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Hailed by some as a work of genius and the first truly American novel, it was dismissed by others as the ravings of a madman. It has since become widely accepted as a masterpiece that anticipates many of the experiments of modernism. The huge range of critical and academic debates about this monster of a novel confirms Moby-Dick's show more status as a vital and exhilarating exploration of the role of American ideology in defining modern consciousness. In this Icon Critical Guide, Nick Selby offers a clear view of the development of critical debate about Moby-Dick. The Guide starts with extracts from Melville's own letters and essays and from early reviews of Moby-Dick that set the terms for later critical evaluations. Subsequent chapters deal with the 'Melville Revival' of the 1920s and the novel's central place in the establishment, growth and reassessment of 'American Studies' in the 1940s and 1950s. The final chapters examine postmodern 'New Americanist' readings of the text, and how these provide us with new models for thinking about American culture. show lessTags
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The huge range of critical and academic debate about this monster of a novel confirms Moby-Dick´s status as a vital and exhilarating exploration of the role of ideology in defining modern consciousness. This Columbia Critical Guide starts with extracts from Melville´s own letters and essays and from early reviews of Moby-Dick that set the terms for later critical evaluations. Subsequent chapters deal with the "Melville Revival" of the 1920s and the novel´s central place in the establishment, growth, and reassessment of American Studies in the 1940s and 1950s. The final chapters examine postmodern readings of the text, and how these provide new models for thinking about American culture.
Excellent collection of serious literary criticism regarding Moby-Dick.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Herman Melville: Moby-Dick (Icon Reader's Guides to Essential Criticism) (Icon Reader's Guides to Essential Criticism)
- People/Characters
- Herman Melville
- Disambiguation notice
- This is commentary edited by Nick Selby. Do not combine with Moby Dick itself.
Classifications
- Genres
- Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature, Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.3 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English Middle 19th Century 1830-1861
- LCC
- PS2384 .M62 .H47 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 19th century
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 42
- Popularity
- 704,292
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
