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2 Herman Melville (1819-1891)2.1 General Introduction ● For some of the famous writers, it would be very hard to be recognized by their fellowmen who lived in the same age because they often spoke or revealed ahead of their time. Herman Melville and his contemporary authors experienced such things. Thoreau and Dickinson had few or no contemporary readers. Poe and Whitman were misunderstood. And Melville suffered an agonizing neglect particularly painful to his soul, and he suffered like Whitman without the kind of compensation that the latter lived to enjoy. (P79) ● Although neglected for many years, he was rediscovered around 1920 and has been enthusiastically studied by critics and scholars ever since. Soon after his death, there was a short revival of interest in Melville’s work. Many of his works were published again and so were many appreciative scholarly evaluations. ● A second Melville revival took place about 1919 coinciding with the centennial of Melville’s birth. Still unpublished was Melville’s last work (Billy Budd, 1924) considered by many to be as important as Moby Dick. By 1930s Melville scholarship became prominent, and, soon after the second world war, a Melville society was organized. Through the next two decades Melville and his writing attracted more research and scholarship than any other American author. 2.2 Life ● Early Life: ◆ 1819, Born in New York City into an impoverished family of distinguished Dutch and English colonial descent. ◆ 1830, at 11, his father died from worry and illness because he suffered heavy financial losses. The death came as a shock because he idolized his father. ◆ At 15, his restlessness and his tension with his mother brought an end to his education. ◆ 1839, signed on as a cabin boy on a British ship---St Lawrence, bound for Liverpool, an experience reflected in his romance Redburn. ◆ 1841–42, spent 18 months on a whaler--Acusbnet, bound for the South Seas. The immediate results of his experiences were Typee: A P