Clarel: Melville's American Poem of Holy Land Pilgrimage

In 1876, Herman Melville published his final full-length e-book, the lengthy poem "Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage within the Holy Land." Despite its complexity, even Melville's most devoted supporters hesitated to tackle this four-part poem containing 150 cantos and nearly 18,000 lines. The poem follows the journey of a naive American named Clarel as he embarks on a pilgrimage through the Palestinian ruins, accompanied by a diverse and intriguing group of companions.

Critics have recently uncovered that Clarela is a more profound poem than previously thought, with Robert Penn Warren even hailing it as a precursor to The Waste Land. The poem provides insights into Melville's inner thoughts, with the character Vine believed to be a depiction of his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. Described as one of the most intricate explorations of religion and doubt in American literature, Clarel revitalizes Melville's work for a new audience.