The Meanings of the White Whale

“To produce a mighty book,” wrote Herman Melville, “you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it.”. Everybody will now grant that Moby Dick is a mighty book on a mighty theme—even though there is little agreement...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:University of Toronto Quarterly
Main Author: Watters, R. E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1951
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/utq.20.2.155
https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/utq.20.2.155
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Summary:“To produce a mighty book,” wrote Herman Melville, “you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it.”. Everybody will now grant that Moby Dick is a mighty book on a mighty theme—even though there is little agreement about the definition of that theme.