Herman Melville : stargazer /

This excellent book examines Melville's knowledge of astronomy, discussing its symbolic use in three works and cataloging references in all of Melville's work. The Mardi chapter finds Taji's quest an allegorical exploration of the cosmos. In Clarel the stars, symbols of God, point to an unresolved quest for assurance of God's existence. Zimmerman (York Univ., UK) provides an especially strong analysis of Billy Budd, in which he finds antithetical patterns of height (Billy Budd-Christ-sun-Aldebaran/Taurus) and depth (Claggart-Satan-moon-Scorpio, the former rising to take the rose of the dawn and the latter sinking to a watery grave). These astronomical references support a reading of Melville's final acceptance of the human condition in which "the clash of good and evil, the temporary destruction of the good and the final cosmic triumph of the good, are part of the way the cosmos works." Star maps and lucid prose clarify this esoteric discussion. Although Richard Smith discusses Melville's use of science in Melville's Science: "Devilish Tantalization of the Gods!" (CH, May'94), Zimmerman's in-depth focus on the astronomy demonstrates how Melville's astronomical images contribute to the grandeur of his themes. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. M. S. Stephenson; University of Texas at Brownsville