'Moby Dick' is one of the great books of the English language, and also one of the most enigmatic and paradoxical. On one hand, the book features one of the most famous plots in world literature; on the other, great swathes of it are largely 'plotless,' being devoted to asides, mini-essays and philosophical discussion. As a nineteenth century text written in the United States, it has much to say about its time and place of composition, but also much to say that chimes with earlier and non-American writing, as well as later literature up to and beyond the time of modernism. The first half of this module is devoted to intensive reading of 'Moby Dick,' and the second to texts that respond to the book and which Melville responds to. Students taking this module will thus gain access to a fascinating text, and knowledge of its myriad contexts.