Herman Melville

Allan Melville MET DT11887

Ezra Ames maria gansevoort melvill (mrs. allan melvill) 1947.17.20

Richard Tobias Greene

Melville's Desertion from the Acushnet

Elizabeth Shaw Melville

Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick, Typee, Omoo, and Bartleby, the Scrivener. Melville's writing draws heavily from his experience at sea and explores themes of identity, fate, religion, and man's relationship with nature.

Early Life

Herman Melville was born in New York City, the third child of Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill (the "e" was added to the family name after Allan's death). The Melvilles were of Scottish and Dutch descent, and Herman was born into a family that was once wealthy and socially prominent. Financial hardships and the death of his father in 1832 led Melville to seek work to support his family, eventually leading him to a career at sea.

Career

Melville's early experiences aboard merchant ships and whalers provided the backdrop for many of his later works. His first book, Typee (1846), was based on his experiences in the Marquesas Islands and became an immediate success. This was followed by Omoo (1847), a sequel of sorts that chronicled his adventures in the South Seas. Despite the popularity of these early works, Melville's later novels, including Moby-Dick (1851), were met with critical and commercial indifference during his lifetime.

Moby-Dick, now considered his masterpiece, was a complex allegorical work that explored the themes of obsession, revenge, and the quest for meaning in an indifferent universe. The novel's narrator, Ishmael, and its enigmatic central character, Captain Ahab, have become iconic figures in American literature.

Later Life and Death

Melville's later years were marked by a decline in his literary success. He turned to poetry and, eventually, to a job as a customs inspector in New York City to support his family. His last major work, Billy Budd, Sailor, was left unpublished at his death and was not published until 1924.

Herman Melville died on September 28, 1891, in New York City. His work was largely forgotten by the public at the time of his death, but his reputation grew in the 20th century, and he is now considered one of America's greatest novelists.

Legacy

Melville's exploration of complex themes such as authority, freedom, and the nature of evil has contributed to his lasting significance in American literature. His use of narrative experimentation and his ability to weave detailed descriptions of natural phenomena with philosophical musings have influenced a wide range of writers. Today, Melville is celebrated not only for Moby-Dick but also for his short stories, including Bartleby, the Scrivener, a tale that prefigures themes of existentialism and absurdism.

Works

• Typee (1846)
• Omoo (1847)
• Mardi (1849)
• Redburn (1849)
• White-Jacket (1850)
• Moby-Dick (1851)
• Pierre (1852)
• Israel Potter (1855)
• The Confidence-Man (1857)
• Billy Budd, Sailor (posthumously published in 1924)

See Also

• American Renaissance
• Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Henry David Thoreau