"Where the Deepening Thunders Call": Voice in Herman Melville's Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War
Date of Award
Spring 5-2012
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
English
Committee Chair
Ellen Weinauer
Committee Chair Department
English
Committee Member 2
Jonathan Barron
Committee Member 2 Department
English
Committee Member 3
Martina Sciolino
Committee Member 3 Department
English
Abstract
Scholarship has long under-appreciated Herman Melville's 1866 collection of Civil War poetry, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, partly due to the poems' inconsistent and distanced perspectives. Melville's experimental use of poetic voice and his unconventional depiction of fictional voices within the poems contribute to the collection's distanced perspectives, as well as to the volume's sometimes difficult and even awkward poetics. However, these experimental voices are also crucial to understanding Melville's attempt to describe changes in the relationship between American individuals and the nation occurring during and immediately following the tumultuous war. Melville's experiments in poetic voice also denote his rumination upon the changing role of the poet in the emerging modernity of mid-nineteenth century America.
Copyright
2012, Loren Percy Bishop
Recommended Citation
Bishop, Loren Percy, ""Where the Deepening Thunders Call": Voice in Herman Melville's Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War" (2012). Master's Theses. 413.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/413