HermanMelville赫爾曼·梅爾維爾（1819-1891）IntroductionofHermanMelvilleIntroductionofhislifeandfamilyTheexperienceasanseamanTheperiodofhiswritingHermanMelville’smajorworkHermanMelville

(August1,1819

–September28,1891)wasanAmerican

novelist,writerofshortstories,andpoetfromthe

AmericanRenaissance

period.Thebulkofhiswritingswaspublishedbetween1846and1857.HeisoneofthegreatAmericanwritersandamajorfigureinworldliterature.Heisalsoknownasthe“AmericanShakespeare”.HermanMelvillewasborninNewYorkCityonAugust1,1819.HewasadescendentofEnglishandDutchcolonialfamilies.Hisfather,onceasuccessfuldry-goods.

Melville‘seducationbeganwhenhewasfiveyearsold,andthenhereadwidely.Whenhewas12yearsold,hisfartherdiedbecauseofbankruptcy.SinceMelvillewasnolongerattendingschool,hehadtofacethehardtimeofhisfamily.Inordertogetridofpoverty,hebegantoworkonmerchantship.Sailingbroadenedhisvision.Thenhebecameasuccessfulwriter.Withdrawnfromliterarycircles,backinNewYork,beingaclerkinacustomhouse.Hisdeathwentunnoticedbythepublicin1891.In1839,Melvilledecidedtobecomeaseaman,firstsignedontoamerchantshipthatwasgoingfromBostontoliver-pool,England,andthenin1841signedonforalongwhalingcruisetotheSouthSeas.Duringthisharshvoyage,hemetanotheryoungman.LatertheyventuredintoavalleyontheislandofNukahiva.Finallytheyescaped,andMelvillesignedasaseamanonanavalvesselandreturnedhomein1844.From1841to1844,seafaringlifehadagreatinfluenceonMelville’slife.Hisexperiencesandadventuresontheseafurnishedhimwithabundantmaterialforhisfictionwritings,especiallyhismasterpieceMobyDick.NotlongafterhisreturntotheUnitedStates,MelvillebegantowritethestoryofhisadventuresintheSouthSeas.InAugust1847MelvillemarriedElizabethShaw,daughterofLemuelShaw,theChiefJusticeoftheMassachusettsSupremeJudicialCourt.MelvilletraveledtoEnglandtoarrangeforitspublicationthereandenjoyedashortholidayinEurope.Onhisreturn,hemovedwithhiswifetoafarmnearPittsfield,Massachusetts.Duringthesummerof1890inPittsfield,MelvilleandAmericanwriterNathanielHawthornemetandbecamegoodfriends.Theysharedsimilarideasandopinionsonmostkindsoffields.TheoriginaldesignofMobyDickwasjustatextonthewhalefishery.WhenMelvillemetHawthorne,hehadcompletedonethirdofMobyDick.WithoutHawthorne,Melvillewouldhavejustwrittenitaboutwhalinghunting.WiththeinfluenceofHawthorne,

Melvillerewroteitintoaworldclassicwhichisanencyclopediaofeverything:history,philosophy,religion,thewhalingindustry.ItisalsoaShakespeareantragedyofmanfightingagainstfatesinanindifferentandhostileworld.HisfriendshipwithHawthorne

Melville’sMajorWorks1)Novels(1)PolynsieTrilogy“波里尼西亞三部曲”

fromhisadventuresamongthepeopleoftheSouthPacificislands

Typee1846?泰皮?Omoo1847?歐穆?Mardi1849?瑪地?(2)Redburn1849?雷得本?anaccountofhisvoyagetoEngland(3)WhiteJacket1850?白外衣?hislifeonaUnitedStatesman-of-war軍艦(4)Melville’sMasterpieceMoby-Dick

1851?白鯨?，?莫比?狄克?“theworld’sgreatestseanovel”.(5)Pierre《皮埃爾》(1852):Adarklyallegoricalexplorationofthenatureofevil,whichispsychologicallycomplexandelaborate.(6)IsraelPotter《伊斯雷爾?波特》(1855):Ahistoricalromance(7)TheConfidenceMan《騙子的化裝表演》(1857):SatirizestheselfishnessandcommercialismofMelville’stime.(8)BillyBudd《比利?巴德》(1891)Anovellaaboutayoungsailor,personifyinginnocence,doomedbythemalevolenthatredofaship’sofficer,personifyingevil.

Melville’sMajorWorks

2)ShortstoriesThePiazzaTales《廣場故事》(1856):ContainssomeofMelville’sfinestshorterworks(1)Bartleby,theScrivener

書記員巴特爾比ThestoryofBartlebyissimplyaboutamanlosinghiswilltolive.(2)BenitoCereno《貝尼托?塞萊諾》Thestorycente