Early Modern Poetics in Melville and Poe: Memory, Melancholy, and the Emblematic Tradition

204 Pages·2012·2.93 MB·English

by  William E. Engel

Early Modern Poetics in
Melville and Poe
Memory, Melancholy, and the
Emblematic Tradition
William E. Engel
Early ModErn PoEtics in
MElvillE and PoE
For my father, Marvin R. Engel,
whose stories about vast swimming lizards of the Galapagos
fired my imagination early on;
and my grandparents, Minnie and Ned Salomon,
whose oversized edition of Dore’s “Raven”
brought me to literature sooner rather than later.
Early Modern Poetics in
Melville and Poe
Memory, Melancholy, and the Emblematic tradition
WilliaM E. EngEl
The University of the South, USA
© William E. Engel 2012
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
William E. Engel has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Engel, William E., 1957–
Early modern poetics in Melville and Poe : memory, melancholy, and the emblematic tradition.
1. Melville, Herman, 1819–1891 – criticism and interpretation. 2. Poe, Edgar allan, 1809–
1849 – Criticism and interpretation. 3. Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) – History – 19th
century.
i. title
813.3’09-dc23
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Engel, William E., 1957–
Early modern poetics in Melville and Poe : memory, melancholy, and the emblematic tradition
/ by William E. Engel.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-3586-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4094-3587-7 (ebook)
1. Melville, Herman, 1819–1891. Encantadas. 2. Poe, Edgar allan, 1809–1849. raven.
3. Melville, Herman, 1819–1891—Literary style. 4. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809–1849—Literary
style. 5. Melville, Herman, 1819–1891—Knowledge—Literature. 6. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809–
1849—Knowledge—Literature. 7. Memory in literature. 8. Chiasmus. 9. Melancholy in
literature. 10. Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) I. Title. II. Title: Memory, melancholy, and the
emblematic tradition.
Ps2384.E63E54 2012
813’.309—dc23
2011040915
ISBN: 9781409435860 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781409435877 (ebk)
IV
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Stylistic Choices and Intellectual Armature 1
1 Melville’s Melancholy Landscapes 17
2 Poe’s Mirrored Memory Palaces 77
Conclusion: Reclaiming Irredeemable Loss 157
Appendix: “The Raven,” Richmond Weekly Examiner, September 25,
1849, col. 4-5. 161
Bibliography 165
Index 181
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
Cover “Self portrait.” E. A. Poe. Reproduced with permission from
The Lilly Library. Indiana University. Bloomington, Indiana
1.1 Melencolia, I (1514). Albrecht Dürer. 47
1.2 “Pallida Mors,” Imagines Mortis (1572), sig. A5. Hans Holbein,
the Younger. 57
1.3 Frontispiece, Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (1660). 70
2.1 Frontispiece, Francis Quarles’s Emblemes Divine and Moral
(1635). 96
2.2 Frontispiece, Quarles Complete Works, edited by Alexander
Grosart (1880), III.106. Photo courtesy of the Newberry
Library. 97
2.3 Emblem I.viii, Francis Quarles’s Emblemes Divine and Moral
(1635). 98
2.4 Emblem I.viii, Quarles Complete Works, edited by Alexander
Grosart (1880), III.115. Photo courtesy of the Newberry
Library. 99
2.5 Emblem V.viii, Francis Quarles’s Emblemes Divine and Moral
(1635). 100
2.6 Emblem V.viii, Quarles Complete Works, edited by Alexander
Grosart (1880), III.176. Photo courtesy of the Newberry
Library. 101
2.7 ‘Perched upon a bust of Pallas,’ “The Raven” (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1884). Gustave Doré. 126
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List of Tables
1.1 Chiastic Design of “The Encantadas, or The Enchanted Isles” 23
2.1 Chiastic Design of “The Raven” using Doré’s illustration as a
background 127