Melville and Aesthetics - by G Sanborn & S Otter (Paperback)

About the Book

"In an original and provocative series of readings that range across Melville's career, the contributors consider not only the sources and implications of Melville's aesthetics, but the relationship between aesthetic criticism, historical analysis, and contemporary theory. The ultimate effect of the collection, the first of its kind, is to return us to the particularities of Melville's extraordinarily varied works and to transform the subject of aesthetics into an invigorating and unpredictable source of interpretive energy"--

Book Synopsis

In an original and provocative series of readings that range across Melville's career, the contributors consider not only the sources and implications of Melville's aesthetics, but the relationship between aesthetic criticism, historical analysis, and contemporary theory.

Review Quotes

"This collection of essays makes an essential contribution to American literary scholarship by expanding the hermeneutical possibilities of theory and practice as well as enriching our understanding of Melville's literary works." - Review 19

"Melville and Aesthetics provides a snapshot of Melville criticism as it is currently practiced by some of the field's most accomplished interpreters. The volume treats a wide range of texts by Melville, including the poetry, and essay after essay wrestles with Melville's astonishing stylistic achievements with intelligence and verve.This is a volume that will be welcomed by students and specialists alike." - Jonathan Elmer, Professor of English and American Studies, Indiana University and author of On Lingering and Being Last: Race and Sovereignty in the New World

"Melville and Aesthetics gives us a set of elegant and interpretively rich essays that add up to a powerful argument about the essential place of aesthetics in Melville's career. The 'extravagant qualities of Melville's lines, ' to use Otter and Sanborn's phrase, are made visible and analytically vital as never before." - Cindy Weinstein, Professor of English, California Institute of Technology

About the Author

GEOFFREY SANBORN is an Associate Professor of Literature at Bard College, USA.

SAMUEL OTTER is a Professor of English and Department Chair of the University of California at Berkeley, USA.