A Companion to Melville Studies

(Hardback)

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John Bryant has assembled a unique collection of critical writings dealing with the life, art, and influence of Herman Melville. More than just a survey of his works, this book is an intellectual guide that comprises the learning and insight of twenty-five noted Melville scholars, as well as their suggestions for further research. In combining criticism and bibliography, each chapter assesses the critical debates that have emerged concerning Melville's thought and art. The Companion also examines Melville's life and influence on the world of books, modern thought, foreign cultures, and popular culture.

Reviews

An encyclopedic attempt to consolidate what is presently known about Melville's life, works, and culture. In 25 separate articles, scholars with a wide variety of perspectives--historical, textual, bibliographical, formalist, structuralist, deconstructionist, and even thanatological--explore Melville's texts, assess the weaknesses and strengths of existing scholarship, and suggest directions for future study. Inevitably, the results are somewhat uneven, but they are consistently informative and frequently provacative.-Choice
"An encyclopedic attempt to consolidate what is presently known about Melville's life, works, and culture. In 25 separate articles, scholars with a wide variety of perspectives--historical, textual, bibliographical, formalist, structuralist, deconstructionist, and even thanatological--explore Melville's texts, assess the weaknesses and strengths of existing scholarship, and suggest directions for future study. Inevitably, the results are somewhat uneven, but they are consistently informative and frequently provacative."-Choice

Author Bio

yant /f John /r ed.