Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"Routledge Literary Sourcebooks" offer a starting point for those wishing to make informed yet original interpretations of key literary texts.
With a careful balance of commentary and reprinted material, each volume in this series introduces a text's:
contexts
* reception
* critical history, from publication to the present
*performance and/or adaptation.
Editors then demonstrate the value of such secondary reading by returning to key passages of the text in question. Suggestions for further reading equip students to explore beyond the Sourcebook.
Many consider Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" to be one of the great American novels. This "Routledge Literary Sourcebook" contains everything essential to an informed reading of this epic text, including:
* a contextual overview
* contemporary documents such as essays and Melville's letters
* early critical reviews
* a history of the reception of the novel up to and including the most recent 'cutting edge' scholarship
* important annotated passages from "Moby-Dick"
This "Routledge Literary Sourcebook" is the essential guide to one of the most famous novels of all time.
Synopsis
No book is more central to the study of nineteenth-century American literature than Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or The Whale. First published it 1851, it still speaks powerfully to readers today. Combining reprinted documents with clear introductions for student readers, this volume examines the contexts of and critical responses to Melville's work. It draws together:
*an introduction to the contexts in which Melville was writing and relevant contextual documents, including letters
*chronology of key facts and dates
*critical history and extracts from early reviews and modern criticism
*fully annotated key passages from the novel
*a list of biblical allusions
*an annotated guide to further reading.
Extensive cross-references link contextual information, critical materials and passages from the novel providing a wide-ranging view of the work and ensuring a successful and enjoyable encounter with the world of Moby-Dick.