NCHS AP English Language

QUESTION 6 BY CAILIN LOYD

6. Starbuck's soliloquy ("Dusk")

Main Entry: trope
Pronunciation: 'trOp
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin tropus, from Greek tropos turn, way, manner, style, trope, from trepein to turn
1 a : a word or expression used in a figurative sense : FIGURE OF SPEECH b : a common or overused theme or device : CLICHE

There are many tropes in Starbuck's soliloquy, such as repeated phrases like, "Oh life!" and other exclamations of that sort, but the central trope that Melville adds is that of a poetic sense to the soliloquy; the language and rhyming prose used is liek that of a poem. For example,

"Will I, nill I, the ineffable thing has tied me to him; tows me with a cable I have no knife to cut. Horrible old man! Who's over him, he cries;—aye, he would be a democrat to all above; look, how he lords it over all below!"

The above excerpt from the chapter is full of different poetic devices, such as alliteration ("Will I, nill I..."). The poetic trope used in this soliloquy is the central theme that Melville is trying to convey. It is appropriate for Starbuck's soliloquy in that Starbuck's character is conservative and also a practicing Christian who is strong in his faith. He is also full of contrasting emotions, one being his disagreement with Ahab's judgement and decisions, but another which is drawn to Ahab and is loyal to him, and also a desire to help him reach his end. These contrasting emotions coincide with the emotions often present in poetic works, which are meant to convey ideas and emotion through subtle ideas present between the lines of text.

BY CAILIN LOYD

posted by Lisa @ 10:04 AM