THE TRYING-OUT OF MOBY-DICK

Contributing to the Melville revival, this is a sound, scholarly study of the sources, composition, meaning and interpretation of Moby-Dick. Here traced is the evolution of the idea in Melville's mind, the revision of the novel changing it from an ordinary whaling voyage to a great tragic epic, literary sources and influences (primarily Hawthorne), the symbolism of characters and scenes. The major part of the book is devoted to the cetological sources and core of the novel- for Melville used the doublet technique, blending factual information with narrative development. Fascinating for the more serious student.