Cycnos | Numéros | Volume 17.2 - Herman Melville : espaces d'écriture

Résumé :

Battle-Pieces, and Aspects of the War, published one year after the end of the Civil War, expresses the author’s belief that the conflict, though it allowed for the victory of “Right”; over “Wrong”;, also debased the democratic dream of the Founders. Battle-Pieces answers the tougher stance taken by the state in the war's aftermath with a moderate and kaleidoscopic comprehension of the war phases, presented through the diverse eyes of its participants. This article analyzes the individual’s quest for identity in the middle of a historical upheaval, one which is compared to a natural catastrophe. The ideals of war glory, the fascination exercised by an enlightening death, the belief in a “continuous”; time ruled by necessity are opposed in Battle-Pieces to the construction of identity through face-to-face with the Other. The temporary truce after the battle provides a privileged time-frame for the poem that weaves a “discontinuous”; time described as a succession of deaths and resurrections.

Date de publication : 2008-07-15