Showing results by author "Herman Melville" in All Categories

If you don't know Melville's letters to Hawthorne, you don't know Melville. These letters are full of passion, humor, doubt, and spiritual yearning, and offer an intimate view of Melville's personality. Lyrical and effusive, they are literary works in themselves. This correspondence has been out of print for decades, and even when it was in print it appeared in scholarly volumes of Melville's complete correspondence, aimed at the academy.

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. He is best known for Moby-Dick, the opening line of which - ‘Call me Ishmael’ - is one of the most famous opening lines in literature. This BBC collection features lively full-cast dramatisations of three of Melville’s best-known works.

Do men need poems? Is the gender of brawn and ‘can-do’ really a candidate for honeyed verse? Obviously yes. Through the centuries men seem to dominate the writing of poetry. From books of epics to quatrains of love poetry it seemed to be a man’s world. His domain. A volume purely for men, to show other facets of their personalities and characters seems to be an obvious choice. One verse fits all is, in fact, far removed from the truth. Men needs words. They need support, understanding as well as goals, ambition and structure. They need purpose, desire; the need to love and be loved.

The sailor Ishmael tells the tale of whaling ship Captain Ahab's obsessive quest to get revenge on Moby Dick, the legendary giant white sperm whale who bit off his leg! With page after page of captivating sea tale, this edition will be the fought over favorite in your home and schoolroom!

The Nantucket whaling ship, the Pequod, spirals the globe in search of Moby Dick, the mythical white whale of the Southern Oceans. Driven on by the obsessive revenge of Captain Ahab, the crew and the outcast Ishmael find themselves caught up in a demonic pursuit which leads inexorably to an apocalyptic climax.

The life of a Scrivener can be a dull one. After all, your entire occupation has to do with the handwritten copying of law documents. But when Bartleby arrives, he turns the office upside down with the enigmatic phrase: “I prefer not to.”

Ismael, un joven con experiencia en la marina mercante, decide que su siguiente viaje será en un ballenero. El joven entabla amistad con el arponero Queequeg, con quien se enrola en el Pequod, dirigido por el misterioso y autoritario capitán Ahab, un viejo lobo de mar con una pierna construida con la mandíbula de un cachalote.

Ishmael, a sailor, recounts the ill-fated voyage of a whaling ship led by the fanatical Captain Ahab, who is in search of the white whale that crippled him. Herman Melville uses stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore a variety of complex themes. Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels in the English language.

Fully restored and remastered, Heritage Media presents the greatest of vintage artists in classic dramas from English and Irish Literature. Here is the legendary Ralph Richardson starring in ‘A Sentimental Journey’, adapted from the original tale by Laurence Sterne and the legendary Margaret Lockwood starring in 'Becky Sharpe' adapted from ‘Vanity Fair’, the original tale by William Makepeace Thackeray. Theatre Royal is a unique series of classic radio dramas produced in the 1950's by the late Harry Alan Towers.

Call me Ishmael. These three famous words begin one of America's most epic novels, a tale of one obsessed captain, his doomed crew, and an elusive white whale named Moby-Dick. The massive original, however, can be very hard for young listeners to navigate. This beautifully abridged and adventure-filled version will thrill children and whet their appetite for the complete work - when they are ready to tackle it.

In 1797, young Billy Budd is impressed into naval service. It is a perilous time for a British Royal Navy still reeling from mutinies and marauding French ships. When Billy is forcibly transferred to HMS Bellipotent, he evokes the wrath of John Claggart, the ship's Master-at-arms. Claggart falsely accuses Billy of conspiracy to mutiny, a charge that will have a profound effect on the fates of both seamen.

Written some 40 years after Moby Dick, Melville's Billy Budd is a moving tale of good versus evil. Set aboard a British navy ship at the end of the eighteenth century, a young, innocent sailor's charm and good nature put the men around him at ease. Ship life agreed with Billy. He made friends quickly and was well liked, which infuriated John Claggart, the ship's cold-blooded superior officer.

Herman Melville is one of the greatest figures in literary history. His classic Moby Dick is generally considered the finest novel ever written by an American. Yet in Melville’s day, Typee was a far more popular book. Largely autobiographical, this classic adventure story is set in the South Seas, where a runaway sailor is captured by the Typees. Described as “a fierce and unrelenting tribe of savages," the islanders have no intention of letting their captive go.

Moby-Dick or The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, the work's genre classifications range from late Romantic to early Symbolist. Its reputation as a "Great American Novel" was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth.

Herman Melville’s novel The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (1857) is a comedy of masquerades and a blend of allegory, cultural satire, and metaphysics. The book portrays a confidence man who sneaks on board a Mississippi steamboat on April Fool's Day, and sets out to defraud his fellow passengers. He rapidly assumes various guises and the pleasure of trickery seems more important than the monetary gain. Each person is forced to confront that in which they believe.

SEA STORIES tells the entire tale. You will find excerpts of some of the most famous nautical stories of all time. Most of us have passed through a period of life during which we have ardently longed to be, if not actually a rover, a buccaneer, or a pirate, at least and really a sailor!

Fully restored and remastered, Heritage Media presents the greatest of vintage artists in classic dramas of the early America’s. Here is the legendary Laurence Olivier starring in ‘The Country of the Blind’, adapted from the original tale by H. G. Wells and ‘Bartelby’ adapted by Herman Melville.Theatre Royal is a unique series of classic radio dramas produced in the 1950s by the late Harry Alan Towers.

Para sair da monotonia, o professor rural Ismael decide descobrir os mistérios das baleias. Quando ele encontra o arpoador Queequeg, eles partem juntos para a ilha de Nantucket em busca de trabalho no mercado de caça às baleias. Lá, eles embarcam com tripulantes de diversas nacionalidades no baleeiro Pequod para uma viagem de três anos aos mares do sul. Mal sabe ele que o sombrio capitão Ahab está obcecado por encontrar a fera responsável por seus ferimentos e que nenhum arpoador jamais conseguiu abater: a temível Moby Dick.

Sir Laurence Olivier presents a selection of classic short stories including Zodomirsky's Duel, The Purse, Little Louise, and Bartleby.

Wellingborough Redburn is a fifteen-year-old from the state of New York, with only one dream to run away to sea. However, when he does fulfil this long-held fantasy, he quickly finds that reality as a cabin boy is far harsher than he ever imagined. Mocked by the crew on board the Highlander for his weakness and bullied by the vicious and merciless sailor Jackson, Wellingborough must struggle to endure the long journey from New York to Liverpool.