Renowned for its scope and a famous first line, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, when properly interpreted, is really one of the more engaging and teachable novels in our nation’s literature. Many readers miss the full depth and continuity of this masterpiece, drowning in what they perceive as digression. Starting with the conviction that Melville does not digress, this five week seminar will take up the compass and chart laid out in the book’s beginning and trace throughout its course those themes of liberty and sovereignty so essential to our American conversation. Rooted in Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare, Melville’s epic deserves a preeminent place in the classroom—but first it must be understood!
NB: Please read Chapters 1 – 22 before the first session if possible.
