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Chapter 28: Ahab
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He's been very mysterious, hasn't he? Good build up of tension!
Perseus, by Benvenuto Cellini
Interesting association.
and is Anthony Wall the film-maker (more likely): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
or the golfer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
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One thing that struck me was hoe Melville managed the shift in mood from the beginning of the chapter when it was somewhat sinister and foreboding to the light lilt and potential of a smile from Captain Ahab, from dark and cold to light and warm. The specter of Elijah is raised early on and then dropped but is there just enough to shiver the spine.
I don't know how Melville came up with such descriptive lines and images. Not only does Ahab that boned leg but it's rooted in the ship, itself, when he took his position on deck. And I swear I could hear the thump of the leg against the wood. :) I particularly liked "the clouds that layer upon layer were piled upon his brow...."
I thoroughly enjoyed this narrator, too.
I have enjoyed these last three chapters discussing the Knights and Squires and Captain, physically describing their internal character. I cannot imagine Ishmael, as the 777th lay, really ever got to know any of these men so deeply at this point in the voyage, but I really appreciate how Melville sets up their characters from Ishmael's eyes. I am excited to see if and how his perception of them will change as the voyage continues.I still do not care for the second half of the first Knights and Squires chapter. I usually have a difficult time connecting with chunks of texts like that, especially following some wondrous imagery.
(perceived by Bildad as the 777th lay)
Chapter 28 - Read by Anthony Wall
Artist: Linder
http://www.mobydickbigread.com/chapte...
Blog: http://ahistoryofnewyork.com/2012/10/...
Are we, at last, to meet the infamous Captain Ahab?