Sounding the Whale

Moby-Dick as Epic Novel

Fiction & Literature, Anthologies
Cover of the book Sounding the Whale by Christopher Sten, The Kent State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christopher Sten ISBN: 9781612771328
Publisher: The Kent State University Press Publication: January 26, 2011
Imprint: The Kent State University Press Language: English
Author: Christopher Sten
ISBN: 9781612771328
Publisher: The Kent State University Press
Publication: January 26, 2011
Imprint: The Kent State University Press
Language: English

Sounding the Whale is Christopher Sten’s comprehensive account of his own close encounter with Moby-Dick. Originally a long, self-contained chapter in The Weaver-God, He Weaves: Melville and the Poetics of the Novel, just published by Kent State University Press, this chapter-by-chapter study of Moby-Dick evolved as a book within a book. Sten argues that Melville not only was familiar with the traditional forms of narrative but that he refined them and appropriated them to his own original purposes. For Moby-Dick, he fused the heroic qualities of the ancient Homeric epic with the spiritual qualities of the early modern form found in Dante and Milton, then cast the whole enterprise in an unprecedented poetic prose form. Thus he formulated the first prose epic of its kind, and the only religious epic on the subject of whaling anyone is likely to write. As Melville’s most ambitious novel, Moby-Dick requires careful and responsive reading. For a clear understanding of the intricacy and depth of Melville’s story, of the subtleties of the quest, one is likely to need a guide. This book is that guide.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Sounding the Whale is Christopher Sten’s comprehensive account of his own close encounter with Moby-Dick. Originally a long, self-contained chapter in The Weaver-God, He Weaves: Melville and the Poetics of the Novel, just published by Kent State University Press, this chapter-by-chapter study of Moby-Dick evolved as a book within a book. Sten argues that Melville not only was familiar with the traditional forms of narrative but that he refined them and appropriated them to his own original purposes. For Moby-Dick, he fused the heroic qualities of the ancient Homeric epic with the spiritual qualities of the early modern form found in Dante and Milton, then cast the whole enterprise in an unprecedented poetic prose form. Thus he formulated the first prose epic of its kind, and the only religious epic on the subject of whaling anyone is likely to write. As Melville’s most ambitious novel, Moby-Dick requires careful and responsive reading. For a clear understanding of the intricacy and depth of Melville’s story, of the subtleties of the quest, one is likely to need a guide. This book is that guide.

More books from The Kent State University Press

Cover of the book Small Comforts by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book An Integrated Boyhood by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Why Cows Need Names by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Song of the Rest of Us by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Charles Doolittle Walcott, Paleontologist by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Landmarks by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Child of the Sit-Downs by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Guide Book for the Tourist and Traveler over the Valley Railway by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book In the Kitchen with Cleveland's Favorite Chefs by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book David Zeisberger by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900 by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Gentleman George Hunt Pendleton by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Framing Elizabethan Fictions by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book Far From Algiers by Christopher Sten
Cover of the book The Seven Deadly Sins in the Work of Dorothy L. Sayers by Christopher Sten
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy