Talk:Herman Melville

Suggested improvements

Interesting article, well written but with some "holes" that need filling. For example, the section "Marriage and later working life" mentions his writing Moby-Dick during the period (1847-66), but says nothing about its actual publication or immmediate relative failure. In describing the period, his "best" book is virtually ignored - the same as happened in 1851! Some of the later text about the book (e.g. first published in London, and why) should be lifted from later sections and placed earlier. Then in section "Later life" it mentions "he no longer showed signs of agitation or insanity" - what's this? When did the signs begin? What caused them? As written, it suggests that Melville's disturbed mind only matters because he got over it, which cannot be the article's intention! It's rather like a doctor saying "don't tell anyone he's ill until after he recovers". And a third suggestion - the article referred to the poem Clarel "inspired by his earlier trip to the Holy Land". What earlier trip? So he travelled to more than just Liverpool and the Pacific? I amended the grammar to "an earlier trip" as there's no previous mention, but if he visited the Mediterranean it's another "hole" that needs filling (he lectured on ancient Rome, it also says - so perhaps he went there too?). Perhaps a Melville devotee can pick up on these things, to help improve further. Pete Hobbs (talk) 23:11, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

I definitely agree with all of the above. I went through some of the history of the page, and the material doesn't seem to have been moved about or edited, but just not written in the first place. Perhaps the original creators of the text forgot to get around to putting it together. I've done the same thing. I will try to find some references to assist getting it in better shape. JoshuSasori (talk) 02:38, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

First of all, in general: for such a great writer, this page should have been a lot more developed than it currently is--Henry James gets much better coverage on Wikipedia. Melvilleans, come here and edit this page until it is admitted into the "featured content"--section. Second, the specifics: Melville visited Europe in 1857, met Hawthorne in Liverpool, and then travelled further to see the Mediterranean. His journals from this and other trips have been published under the title Journals. The chronology is also confused in the section Early works and travel. Better to do everything chronological: first discuss HM's voyages, and then the works based upon these trips. MackyBeth (talk) 18:15, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Lead section

The lead section of the article does not summarize the contents of the article. It focuses on only one aspect, M's literary recognition. It should be rewritten to include a summary of the major parts of the article. JoshuSasori (talk) 04:13, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

Almost a year later this still stands. The lead will have to be revised, along with the article itself. The biography is divided into pre- and post-Moby-Dick, as if the whaling book would have been some kind of dividing line, whereas the true division is the fact that HM published so little after The Confidence-Man (1857). It is much better to give every work from 1846 to 1857 a section of its own. This revision will then have to be reflected in the Lead section, which should conform to Wikipedia policy of being a kind of abstract of the whole article.MackyBeth (talk) 18:27, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Chronology problems in "Later Works"

The section "Later works" skips over the publication of Moby Dick completely. It discusses writing of Moby Dick, and then jumps to the critical reception of Pierre. It should say at least something about Moby Dick's publication. JoshuSasori (talk) 04:23, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

Archive change to 120 days

I've changed the length of archiving to 120 days. I looked at the archive, and there doesn't seem to be a real need for such a very short time span for archiving threads, because this talk page is not exceptionally busy. Probably 365 days would be short enough. Archiving so quickly means that notes could be lost. I hope this is OK with other editors, if not let's discuss it here. JoshuSasori (talk) 08:22, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

Doesn't appear to be COI?

As I read WP:COI, which is a guideline, not a policy, though a very important one, it doesn't apply to the good intentioned undo. The guidelines reads, "Using material you have written or published is allowed within reason, but only if it is relevant, conforms to the content policies, including WP:SELFPUB, and is not excessive. Citations should be in the third person and should not place undue emphasis on your work....," then goes on, "Museum curators, librarians, archivists, and similar are encouraged to help improve Wikipedia, or to share their information in the form of links to their resources. If a link cannot be used as a reliable source, it may be placed under further reading or external links if it complies with the external links guideline. " Let me know if I'm wrong!

In any case, as an unbiased and uninvolved editor, I think I'm in the clear to restore this very useful site. Cheers, ch (talk) 06:54, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

The website takes further the important work done by Merton M. Sealts, Jr. on Melville's Reading from the 1960s tot 1990s.Oh, forgot to sign:MackyBeth (talk) 18:47, 29 November 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by MackyBeth (talk • contribs) 18:38, 29 November 2013 (UTC)