[1], Clarel is perhaps the longest poem in American literature, stretching to almost 18,000 lines (longer even than European classics such as the Iliad, Aeneid and Paradise Lost). But Jewish custom and a jealous rabbi keep Clarel and Ruth apart much of the time, so the student continues sightseeing with Nehemiah. Clarel also senses a kinship with an Italian youth and Catholic doubter named Celio, whom he sees walking in the distance, but does not take the initiative and greet him. [8], Subsequent criticism, especially since the so-called "Melville Revival" of the early-20s, has been more positive about the poem. When Vine and Rolfe decide to take a tour of other important sites in the Holy Land — the wilderness where John the Baptist preached, the monastery at Mar Saba and Bethlehem — Clarel wants to accompany them, but he does not wish to leave Ruth. But Melville has gradually gained a reputation as one of America's great nineteenth-century poets, and Clarel is now acclaimed alongside his fiction as one of his great works.[2]. Clarel eagerly listens to these conversations but rarely participates, unsure of whether his faith is being shored up or torn down by the debates. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. After a short distance, Lesbos turns back and returns to the monastery, giving the pilgrims a military salute. Utwór opowiada o pielgrzymce tytułowego bohatera do Ziemi Świętej. Nehemiah later introduces Clarel to Ruth, with whom he falls in love. He was still in doubt following his time in Jerusalem. Eliota[2]. Clarel and the other pilgrims travel to the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Saba, where one St. Saba discovered a fountain in the desert and planted a palm tree now more than one thousand years old. Emerge thou mayst from the last whelming sea, His newfound faith is rocked to its depths. Jewish customs prohibit Clarel's presence, so the student decides to take the journey, confident that he will see his beloved when he returns to Jerusalem. Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land – epos amerykańskiego powieściopisarza i poety Hermana Melville’a[1], opublikowany w 1876[2][3][4] nakładem nowojorskiej oficyny G.P. ", Melville had visited the Holy Land in the winter of 1856[3] and traveled along the route he describes in Clarel. The monks bury the Jew outside the monastery, in an unconsecrated grave, "Where vulture unto vulture calls, / And only ill things find a friend.". Salem to be no Samarcand; Clarel is initially amazed by the religious diversity of Jerusalem; he sees Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists walking its streets and recognizes their common faith in divinity. Clarel’s faith is strengthened after his time with Ungar and Salvaterra, and he views the setting sun as an inspiring beacon. In Gethsemane, Clarel meets Vine and Rolfe, two opposites. He saw a vision of John's heavenly city in the air, above the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Jerusalem, Hostel).