Herman Melville

Who Was Herman Melville?

Herman Melville, born in New York City on August 1, 1819, is considered one of the great American writers. His early career was shaped by his maritime experiences, which he recounted in novels such as Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847). However, it was his later works, particularly Moby-Dick (1851), that cemented his literary legacy, despite their initial poor sales. By the 1860s, Melville turned to poetry, and after his death in 1891, his reputation grew posthumously, securing his place among the literary giants of America.

Early Life

Melville’s early life was marked by both privilege and hardship. Born into a prosperous family, his father, Allan Melville, was a successful merchant. However, Allan’s heavy borrowing and a failed business venture in the 1830s led to financial ruin. After his father’s sudden death in 1832, the family’s fortunes deteriorated.

As a child, Herman contracted scarlet fever, leaving him with impaired vision. Despite this, he excelled at his studies, attending Albany Academy and Albany Classical School, where he began writing poetry, essays, and short stories. In the late 1830s, Melville worked briefly as a teacher and then as a clerk in a bank, but these jobs did not fulfill him.

In 1837, the family’s financial struggles deepened when the family business folded. Melville then enrolled at Lansingburgh Academy to study surveying, hoping to secure work on the newly launched Erie Canal project. However, when he failed to secure such a position, he turned to a more adventurous path.

Sea Voyages and Early Writing Success

In 1839, Melville embarked on a sea voyage as a cabin boy aboard the St. Lawrence, which sailed between New York City and Liverpool. This journey marked the beginning of his seafaring adventures, which would profoundly influence his writing. In 1841, Melville joined the Acushnet, a whaling ship, embarking on a voyage that would inspire much of his literary work.

Melville’s time aboard the Acushnet was tumultuous: after reaching the Marquesas Islands, he and a crewmate deserted the ship, only to be captured by local cannibals. Though treated with respect, Melville eventually escaped and spent months aboard another whaling ship, the Lucy Ann. He later joined a mutiny and was imprisoned, only to escape again, finally returning to the United States in 1844 after more than three years.

Upon his return, Melville began writing about his maritime adventures. His first novel, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (1846), captivated readers with its vivid descriptions of life at sea and his harrowing experiences. The novel’s success was followed by Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (1847), a sequel that further solidified his literary reputation.

In 1847, Melville married Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of Massachusetts’ chief justice. The couple had four children, and Melville’s personal and professional life seemed to be on a promising trajectory.

‘Moby-Dick’ and Other Works

Herman Melville continued to explore the sea-adventure genre with his novels Mardi: and a Voyage Thither (1849), Redburn: His First Voyage (1849), and White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War (1850). These works further cemented his reputation as a writer of maritime fiction.

In 1851, Melville produced his most iconic work, Moby-Dick (initially titled The Whale). This novel, a cornerstone of American Romanticism, is deeply influenced by Melville’s personal experiences aboard whaling ships as well as the real-life tragedy of the Essex, a whaleship that met a disastrous fate in the Pacific Ocean. In November 1820, the Essex was struck by a sperm whale, leading to its destruction. The crew, stranded in small whaleboats, endured perilous conditions, including storms, thirst, disease, starvation, and even cannibalism in a desperate struggle for survival. The remarkable tale of the crew’s eventual rescue off the coast of South America captivated the public, providing the inspiration for Melville’s story of Captain Ahab’s obsessive quest for revenge against the elusive Moby Dick.

Despite the eventual recognition and critical acclaim of Moby-Dick, the novel did not bring Melville commercial success or lasting fame during his lifetime. Early reviews were lukewarm at best; an 1851 article in The Illustrated London News referred to the work as Melville’s “last and best and most wildly imaginative story,” but critiqued it for its “reckless imaginative power,” noting that the author’s philosophical speculations often descended into “rhapsody and purposeless extravagance.” Sales of Moby-Dick were disappointing, as were those of later novels such as Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852) and Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile (1855). After The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (1857), Melville largely abandoned novel-writing.

Later Years, Death, and Legacy

In the late 1850s, Melville turned to public speaking, delivering a series of lectures, and by the 1860s, he took up a position as a customs inspector in New York City, a role he held for twenty years. During this period, he also shifted his focus to poetry, publishing Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War in 1866. In 1876, he released Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, an epic inspired by his travels in the region.

Melville’s final years were marked by a quiet retreat from the literary world. He passed away from a heart attack in New York City on September 28, 1891, having made little headway on his last novel. Though his early fame had faded, his works began to see reprints, and by the early 20th century, Melville’s literary stature grew. In 1924, his unfinished novel Billy Budd, Sailor was published posthumously.

Today, Melville is recognized as one of the greatest American authors, with Moby-Dick remaining a central text in the literary canon. The novel has been adapted numerous times for film, including the 1956 cinematic version, and continues to be a mainstay of academic curricula. Melville’s legacy experienced a resurgence in 2015, following the release of In the Heart of the Sea, a film directed by Ron Howard that dramatized the ill-fated journey of the Essex.