"This book asks the questions of whether Moby-Dick-the first novel to represent vast metaphorical and spiritual implications for our own behavior through ocean animals- closely conveyed the understanding of whales in the nineteenth century, and what was twisted merely for the fictional purposes. Richard King lays bare the background to Moby-Dick by moving through the voyage of the Pequod, exploring topics in marine biology, oceanography, and the science...

First published in 1947, this acknowledged classic of American literary criticism explores the influences-especially Shakespearean ones-on Melville's writing of Moby-Dick. One of the first Melvilleans to advance what has since become known as the "theory of the two Moby-Dicks," Olson argues that there were two versions of Moby-Dick, and that Melville's reading King Lear for the first time in between the first and second versions of the book had a...

Shares expert guidelines on how to read and appreciate Herman Melville's classic work, offering insight into its history, characters, and themes while explaining its literary relevance in the modern world.