The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces, 1839-1860Northwestern University Press, 1987 - 847 pages Included are two sea tales that encompass the essence of Melville's art: "Benito Cereno", an exhilarating account of mutiny and rescue aboard a disabled slave ship, which is a parable of man's struggle against the forces of evil, and "The Encantadas", ten allegorical sketches of the Galapagos Islands, which reveal nature to be both enchanting and horrifying. Two pieces explore themes of isolation and defeat found in Melville's great novels: "Bartelby, the Scrivener", a prophetically modern story of alienation and loss on nineteenth-century Wall Street, and "The Bell Tower", a Faustian tale about a Renaissance architect who brings about his own violent destruction. The other two works reveal Melville's mastery of very different writing styles: "The Lightning-Rod Man", a satire showcasing his talent for Dickensian comedy, and "The Piazza", the title story of the collection, which anticipates the author's later absorption with poetry. |
Contents
Bartleby the Scrivener | 13 |
Benito Cereno | 47 |
The LightningRod Man | 118 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces, 1839-1860: Volume Nine, Scholarly ... Herman Melville No preview available - 1987 |
Common terms and phrases
add in blank Amasa Delano American appeared Bartleby beauty Benito Cereno blank space boat called Captain Delano chimney cock compositor Confidence-Man copy-text crow deck deponent Dix & Edwards Don Benito Duyckinck edition Elizabeth Shaw Encantadas eyes followed by blank guideline to caret hand Harper Hawthorne Herman Melville HM add comma HM alter Hunilla island isles Israel Potter Jay Leyda Jimmy Rose Leaf lecture letter Literary World looked magazine manuscript mind Moby-Dick Mosses negro Babo never Newberry Newberry Library night NN emends Oberlus Old Zack Omoo passage Piazza Piazza Tales pieces Pittsfield poor present printing Putnam's Monthly Magazine quotation marks reading reprinted round sail sailors Sealts seemed ship sketch sort South Seas Spaniard Spanish stand story strange thing thought ticking tion tortoises voyage wife words writing Yankee Doodle York