tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post2204537807276812651..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Pale ravener of horrible meat - poetic MelvilleAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-24501917050101678432010-08-23T11:08:09.353-05:002010-08-23T11:08:09.353-05:00Those Pierre passages - the peachy hummingbirds an...Those <i>Pierre</i> passages - the peachy hummingbirds and floor of pearls and so on - are fantastic. Not the only kind of great prose, thank goodness, but one kind.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75300984082267559072010-08-22T17:46:06.427-05:002010-08-22T17:46:06.427-05:00I love the passage Nicole found!I love the passage Nicole found!Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-5659529721569091152010-08-17T15:35:02.202-05:002010-08-17T15:35:02.202-05:00When I first encountered those beaks of humming-bi...When I first encountered those beaks of humming-birds with the peach juice, I had to stop and reread it. I actually read it several times and went back occasionally to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Melville?Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-85451112076706233482010-08-17T11:41:24.786-05:002010-08-17T11:41:24.786-05:00Now that, Fred, is a fine shade of purple. Beaks ...Now that, Fred, is a fine shade of purple. Beaks of hummingbirds printed with peach juice! Magnificent and nuts. <br /><br />Nabokov taught me the prose-as-poem trick, by the way. See the end of the Chernyshevsky chapter of <i>The Gift</i>.<br /><br />Using the Gutenberg text, I see that "maw" appears only three times in <i>Moby-Dick</i>. What do I mean, only? Three times is plenty. And "jaw" appears almost 90 times: "Up helm, I say--ye fools, the jaw! the jaw!"Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3158906803739018882010-08-17T10:00:26.838-05:002010-08-17T10:00:26.838-05:00My favorite passage from _Pierre_
"Man or w...My favorite passage from _Pierre_<br /><br /><br />"Man or woman who has never loved, nor once looked deep down<br />into their own lover's eyes,<br />they know not the sweetest and loftiest religion of this earth. Love is both Creator's and Savior's gospel to mankind; a volume bound in roseleaves, clasped with violets, and by the beaks of humming-birds printed with peach-juice on the leaves of lilies."<br /><br />-- Herman Melville --<br />from Pierre: or, The AmbiguitiesFredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14951178562164233322010-08-17T08:10:11.002-05:002010-08-17T08:10:11.002-05:00Plus, who figured anyone else would even care? Not...Plus, who figured anyone else would even <em>care</em>? Not me. But look: we are "awesome"!<br /><br />I don't want to say this definitively, but I feel like Melville uses both "maw" and "charnel" at a higher rate than the average writer. Certainly his subject matter could have something to do with it, but ugh.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-58784211539836734922010-08-16T23:54:07.453-05:002010-08-16T23:54:07.453-05:00"Pale ravener of horrible meat." Attent..."Pale ravener of horrible meat." Attention-grabbing, definitely! "Charnel of maw." Questionable at best, you're right. Liked the trick you pulled with that "poem" from <em>Pierre</em>, by the way!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-57922575138566551852010-08-16T23:33:57.258-05:002010-08-16T23:33:57.258-05:00I figured one of us would drop out. So: fantasti...I figured one of us would drop out. So: fantastic!<br /><br />That whole "beauty" thing is an idea I should work out more, probably before mentioning it rather than after. Oh well.<br /><br />Now here, I say that Melville is not so poetic and then go for the clearly poetic "Maldive Shark". Not the way to make the case. But it's true, isn't it? Melville's formally structured poetic language is often much simpler than his baroque prose. <br /><br />Often, I see why (the battlefield elegies, for example). But not always.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-87216635130590550572010-08-16T20:08:04.643-05:002010-08-16T20:08:04.643-05:00Am I missing something? Where do I find this fant...Am I missing something? Where do I find this fantastic response? I know there were a few of us saying, good luck, hardy sailors, we look forward to hearing about your journey! But are there scores of bloggers reading Clarel right now that I don't know about, or is it you two guys?<br /><br />Or is it just that no one thought you were crazy to try to read it at all?<br /><br />At any rate, you guys are awesome, and I'm glad that it's manageable. Good old 19th century. Looking forward to further reports.zhivhttp://zhiv.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-11601176957130145832010-08-16T16:03:14.767-05:002010-08-16T16:03:14.767-05:00I know, the response was fantastic, wasn't it?...I know, the response <em>was</em> fantastic, wasn't it? I was super surprised.<br /><br />I share your impressions entirely. <em>Clarel</em> is much less obscure than expected, but definitely complex. Also, not terribly beautiful. I'm not suspicious of literary beauty (am I? I don't think so), and I think Melville's prose writing is some of the most beautiful around. So that is one disappointment for me in his poetry, I guess. I want <em>Clarel</em> to sound much more beautiful than it does. But I am quite liking it all the same...I think.nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17532641082944082516noreply@blogger.com