Herman Melville

American novelist, 1819–1891. Explained quotes.

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About Herman Melville

Herman Melville sailed on a whaling ship as a young man and turned his voyages into popular adventure novels. Moby-Dick (1851), his masterpiece, sold poorly in his lifetime, and he spent his later years working as a customs inspector in New York. He was rediscovered as a great American writer in the 1920s.

More lines by Melville

Short quotes checked against their sources.

“Call me Ishmael.”
Moby-Dick, Chapter 1, 1851
“To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
Moby-Dick, Chapter 135 (Captain Ahab), 1851