Clarel (poem) facts for kids
Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land is a very long poem written by an American author named Herman Melville. He is famous for writing the book Moby Dick. This poem was published in New York in 1876. It was the last big book Melville wrote.
The poem is truly huge! It has four main parts. It also has 150 smaller sections called cantos. In total, it has almost 18,000 lines. The poem is written in a rhyming style. Most of it uses a rhythm called iambic tetrameter. This means each line has eight syllables with a special beat. The very last part of the poem uses iambic pentameter, which has ten syllables per line. Sometimes, Melville also uses alliteration, which is when words close together start with the same sound.
Contents
What is Clarel About?
The poem tells the story of a young man named Clarel. He goes on a journey to a special place called the Holy Land. This trip becomes a pilgrimage for him. A pilgrimage is a journey taken for religious or spiritual reasons.
Clarel's Search for Faith
The main idea of the poem is about searching for faith. Clarel had lost his faith while he was studying. He hoped that this journey would help him find it again. It's a story about someone trying to understand their beliefs.
Who is the Character Vine?
One of Clarel's friends in the poem is named Vine. Many people believe that the character Vine is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne was a famous writer and a good friend of Herman Melville. Authors often put parts of their friends or people they know into their stories.
How Does the Poem End?
The poem finishes with some words of hope for Clarel. It suggests that even after difficult times, there can be a new beginning. Here are a few lines from the end of the poem:
Then keep thy heart, though yet but ill-resigned --
Clarel, thy heart, the issues there but mind;
That like the crocus budding through the snow --
That like a swimmer rising from the deep --
That like a burning secret which doth go
Even from the bosom that would hoard and keep;
Emerge thou mayst from the last whelming sea,
And prove that death but routs life into victory.
How Was the Poem Received?
When Melville's poem was first published in the 1800s, it wasn't very popular. People didn't appreciate it much back then. However, in the 1900s, things changed. A writer named Robert Penn Warren said that Clarel was an early version of a famous poem called The Waste Land. This later poem was written by T.S. Eliot. Interestingly, Eliot's poem also explores the idea of searching for faith, just like Clarel.
