
Satirical Apocalypse
An Anatomy of Melville's The Confidence-Man
Jonathan A. Cook(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 30. April 1996
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-313-29404-4 (ISBN)
Description
This valuable new addition to Melville studies offers a ground-breaking interpretation of Melville's last published novel, one of the most complex texts in American literature and a work that has long been noted for the divergent critical views it has elicited. Reading the novel as a generic hybrid of narrative satire and apolyptic vision, Cook situates the novel in its implicit theological, historical, and biographical contexts: he examines the novel's relation to Melville's heterodox ideas of the deity, to the increasingly commercialized cultural milieu of antebellum America, and to Melville's own life and literary career. Uncovering a wealth of new data on the novel's satirical applications, including its covert use of Melville's friends and family for character models, Cook offers a compelling reading of The Confidence-Man - one that is sure to influence our future conception of its creator.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-313-29404-4 (9780313294044)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
JONATHAN A. COOK has a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has been a lecturer at Boston University and has published articles on Irving, Hawthorne, and Melville.
Content
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Satirical Form: Parodic Masquerade
Historical Context: Mirror of Man
Allegorical Matrix: Mirror of God
Biographical Models: Fathers and Sons
Biographical Models: Literary Brethren
Interior Fables: Misanthropes and Philanthropists
Interpolated Essays: Apologia and Ars Poetica
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Abbreviations
Introduction
Satirical Form: Parodic Masquerade
Historical Context: Mirror of Man
Allegorical Matrix: Mirror of God
Biographical Models: Fathers and Sons
Biographical Models: Literary Brethren
Interior Fables: Misanthropes and Philanthropists
Interpolated Essays: Apologia and Ars Poetica
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index