Why does Ahab care so deeply about Pip? What is it about the cabin-boy that makes Ahab so determined to provide for him?
Immediately prior to Ahab finding Moby Dick, in the chapter called “The Symphony,” Melville offers us an extraordinary scene of Romantic pantheism in which nature itself offers Ahab a wholly unexpected form of grace. Discuss any of the elements of this scene: the imagery, Ahab’s response to it, his conversation with Starbuck, or any other aspects of the scene you consider important.
While much of Moby-Dick is so filled with information, reflection, and philosophical speculation as to be close to plotless, the chapters devoted to the three days of the chase provide all the action and excitement a reader could wish for. Consider these chapters as action and, according to the ancient principle formulated by Heraclitus as “Character is destiny,” as the fulfillment of any of these characters’ destinies.
Again you have the option to take any passage from this reading and re-lineate it as poetry. The instructions are the same: you must not change anything about it except where the line-breaks occur. You must keep the same words in the same sequence and maintain the same punctuation. If you want to add capitalization at the beginnings of lines, you may, though this is not required. As part of your post, you must also explain why you chose the passage you did (presumably, you found it poetic already, though you should explain why) and how you approached reforming it into a poem.