Monday, March 7, 2016

The Classics - CLOSING LINES: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Image result for moby dick original book cover by herman
"Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."

(Published 1851)


I love the classics and plan to alternately share some "CLOSING lines" over the coming months. Comment if you wish, or read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, or were they really?

16 comments:

  1. Wonderful book and film, great closing lines.
    Yvonne.

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  2. His word choice was perfect. Ominous and fatal. Glad you chose this one.

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    1. Thanks. Because of coursework I took, I actually read this book 5 times. I love the language.

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  3. That was a spookily resonant ending. I read the book in college but didn't yet appreciate Melville's command of words. Lovely choice.

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    1. It's not a book you can skim. There is so much!

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  4. The ending feels so foreboding. Excellent!

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  5. I've never read Melville's book, but have read Edward F. Edinger's (Jungian analyst, no longer alive) book: Melville's Moby Dick: An American Nekyia. It's full of psychological symbolism - eg the experience of the collective unconscious, the psychological significance of the characters and more ... a book I return to time and again for its psychological richness and for it's many excerpts from Melville's Moby Dick ... Thank you Sharon, the closing lines are poetic in their sombreness ..

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    1. I highly recommend it. The author has a rather dark history though.

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  6. A true classic--your posts always remind me that I don't read enough classics!

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    1. No kidding...they have the same effect on me :)

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  7. Closing lines are just as difficult to write as opening ones. What a great way to close, though. And those last words can be truly inspirational.

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    1. Hi Fran. I have similar issues. Closing lines are the hardest for me.

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  8. Oh, wow, this is such a great closing line. I've never read Moby Dick--I know, I know, shame on me--but based on this alone, it's clear Melville had a fantastic way with words...

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  9. A good read over the summer if you have the time. You don't want to read it slowly though. Kind of like reading War and Peace for the first time.

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.