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Highlights:

► "mystical" in paragraph 1
Note the frequent use of this and related terms in Melville's assessment of Hawthorne. We've seen this term used often by religious writers, but it's not used the same way here exactly.  Here it refers to something that is not logical or rational--something beyond logic.  It's a secular or non-sacred form of the same thing.  Maybe "magical" comes close to what Melville means.  Melville later in this paragraph refers to Hawthorne's "wizard power," which really defines it well.

► "Monsieur du Miroir" in paragraph 1

Melville says that he is a "mirror man" to Hawthorne.  It's a way of saying that he sees himself in Hawthorne, that he really connects with Hawthorne; he understands him at a deep level, beyond logic or cognition.

► "allegorical fire" in paragraph 2
Allegory was frequently used like parable by ministers as a way of teaching a moral truth or lesson.  Allegory is a literary device employing a series of concrete elements in a narrative that represent a series of abstractions in a narrative.  For example, a narrative about a difficult and dangerous journey full of temptations could be an allegory for a journey through life trying to get to heaven. Melville here says that there are allegorical (Christian) dimensions to Hawthorne's tales, here "Earth's Holocaust."

► "... blackness, ten times black" in paragraph 4
Note the distinction of the Indian summer on the hither side and the blackness on the other side of Hawthorne's soul.  Note the many other references to Hawthorne's blackness in the review.  This use of blackness seems connected to the ancient use of light and dark in Christian pictures, where it is very common.  Note that in this same paragraph Melville also refers to Puritanism and "original sin" in the context of references to darkness.

► "... speaks the same madness of vital truth" in paragraph 5

Notice that in paragraph 5, especially in the last half of the paragraph, Melville refers to "truth" in connection with Hawthorne's writing.  Melville seems to combine "blackness" or "dark" and "truth."

► "... the blackness it is that furnishes the ... background--that background, against which Shakespeare" in paragraph 5

Consider the references to Shakespeare, starting here in paragraph 5 and continuing for the next several paragraphs.  Melville is definitely comparing Hawthorne to Shakespeare, which, of course, is high praise indeed.  By this comparison, Melville seems to be saying that Hawthorne doesn't need to take a back seat to Shakespeare, that they are peers as great, deep writers.  They have both gone "far" "into the universe" (from paragraph 8).  In this context, Melville uses terms like "patriotism" and "nationalism" frequently, as though he feels proud that Hawthorne is his fellow American.  Now America ranks with England as having a great national literature.

► "Shiloh," toward the end of paragraph 8 and again in paragraph 17

Shiloh was an important ancient Israeli city, mentioned in the Old Testament in several places with several different meanings. Your text tries to help (it says that Shiloh means "Messiah" in paragraph 8, and the "Arc of the Covenant" in paragraph 17), but while those definitions are not inaccurate, I'm not sure they say it all.  Read about Shiloh in the Bible, in the first three chapters of I Samuel, and especially 3:20-21.  Here Shiloh is recognized as the place where the prophet Samuel was established.  With this aspect of Shiloh's history in mind, Melville's two uses of the old city in this review don't seem different from one another.  Melville himself sees it this way, for in the second reference to Shiloh, in paragraph 17, he refers back to the first time he referred to the city, in paragraph 8 (in the section of the review that he wrote "yesterday"), and he says that he's "charmed" by the "coincidence."   In both instances, Melville suggests a parallel between what Shiloh meant for the ancient Israelites, including the establishment of Samuel's prophecy, and what Hawthorne means for the new country, America.  Hawthorne's genius as a writer, like Samuel's gift of prophecy, took time to develop, but now that it is recognized, great things will happen.  With the addition of the Samuel part of the meaning of Shiloh, we can understand Melville to be saying that Hawthorne's genius prophesies great things for America and its literature.

Questions:

1. Why do you think Melville was so surprised (in paragraph 1 and elsewhere) at the Hawthorne of these tales?

2. Almost immediately, before the end of the first paragraph, Melville is using words like "mystical depth," "profound," and "allegorical fire."  Later "blackness" and similar terms are used.  What is it about Hawthorne's tales that Melville responds to so darkly?

3. What are some of the "Puritanical" or "Calvinistic" touches (paragraph 4) that Melville could mean?

4. In the long section on Shakespeare and Hawthorne (paragraphs 5-8), what does Melville find similar between them?  Be as specific as possible.

5. How are "Eden" and "Adam" used in paragraph 10?

6. In the next extended section of his review (paragraphs 11-13), Melville talks about Hawthorne as an American, in the context of England and Europe.  And further, he puts this discussion in terms of "imitation" and "originality."  How do you assess Melville's view here?

7. Which of the tales in this collection does Melville seem to like most, and why?

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