tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post4024981132339152820..comments2024-03-26T22:47:45.276-07:00Comments on Intro to Critical Reading: Very Like a Whale: The Influence of Hamlet on Moby-DickAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-3542997315134366972012-03-30T17:16:19.906-07:002012-03-30T17:16:19.906-07:00The first paragraph strikes me as concise and clev...The first paragraph strikes me as concise and clever, although in moderate danger of being overly complicated. I like the focus on free will as an issue of *structural* interest in drama, as well as of *thematic* interest in MD.<br /><br />Your discussion of the role of theater within the novel is also compact and clever, although it wanders a little. One minor point: his invocation of the fates surely reaches back beyond Shakespeare into Greek drama? Remember the importance of Prometheus here!<br /><br />Your path to arguing explicitly that Ahab is inwardly related to both Hamlet and Polonious is a little tortured. I'm not convinced that a perfunctory discussion of Richard III, for instance, was necessary, *especially* since Ahab obviously fits in with Shakespeare's mad characters. Think also of Lear and Titus Andronicus here.<br /><br />I love the idea of Ishmael as Polonius. However, for it to work, it might well require its own essay - the thoughts you dash off on this subject could be greatly expanded.<br /><br />While you're thinking about Ishmael's absent identity, let me propose (to me) the obvious Shakespearean model. "I am not what I am," announces Iago. After all, *evil* is a pervasive concern in MD...<br /><br />Overall: This is an excellent topic, an there is a wealth of thought in every paragraph. I like everything here, but I do have one substantial criticism: you're trying to do too much! Your overemphasize the opening quote, when you should probably be treating it like an inspiration. You bounce back and forth between structural concerns (stage direction and free will) and thematic ones (the role of the spy and of the tortured intellectual). You also shift your focus between Ahab and Ishmael. Not that any of this is a disaster - I'm just pointing out that despite the strengths of this essay, a more focused and streamlined one emphasizing one argument and/or one character could have had a deeper relationship with both texts, in a good way. This is quite good, but there's an even better essay (or two) within it.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com