Herman Melville: An Anti- Transcendentalist or Not? Melville, Herman (1819-91), American novelist, a major literary figure whose exploration of psychological and metaphysical themes foreshadowed 20th-century literary concerns but whose works remained in obscurity until the 1920s, when his genius was finally recognized. Melville was born August 1, 1819, in New York City, into a family that had declined in the world. The Gansevoorts were solid, stable, eminent, prosperous people; the (Herman's Father's side) Melvilles were somewhat less …showed first 75 words of 1659 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1659 total…ross the death of the idealist and the birth of the realist. But at the end of the day, whatever emotions he possessed about the nature of idealism and idealistic thought, still form an integral part of him. Whether or not the reader understands the general aura of wanting to achieve something from his creations, yet Melville still strove to be a commercial success and his aim for excellence in the field of writing continued.