"As in the hurricane...some lone, gigantic elm" ; Melville's Use of Similes in Moby-Dick

概要

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A simile compares two unlike things (often using "like" or "as"), one of which is the thing to be described (in this paper the Focus) and the other the thing it is compared to (the Aspect). For example, in the simile "He lived in the world, as the last of the Grisly Bears lived in settled Missouri, " "He" is the Focus of the simile and "lived as the last of the Grisly Bears (did) in settled Missouri" is the Aspect, which illustrates or explains the Focus. Homer in The Illiad was the first to use extended similes involving complex objects, actions or relations. In Moby-Dick, to figuratively make Ahab more closely the equal of the Whale, Melville employed the epic, or Homeric simile. This paper explores his use of this device and other, less elaborate, similes employed in the novel. Similes for the ship itself, its crew and the Whale are also analyzed because they are central to the novel's meaning and are the locus of Melville's imagery and metaphorical imagination. It will be seen that Melville uses trees in a number of similes for Ahab and that wood is the main Aspect associated with him---though Melville uses other symbols in his similes for Ahab. The 1979 University of California, Arion Press edition has been used in this paper.
駒沢女子大学の論文
1999-12-24