| | The story was also suggested by the true story of the whaleship ''Essex,'' which Melville himself describes within the novel: | | The story was also suggested by the true story of the whaleship ''Essex,'' which Melville himself describes within the novel: |
| | :In the year 1820 the ship Essex, Captain Pollard, of Nantucket, was cruising in the Pacific Ocean. One day she saw spouts, lowered her boats, and gave chase to a shoal of sperm whales. Ere long, several of the whales were wounded; when, suddenly, a very large whale escaping from the boats, issued from the shoal, and bore directly down upon the ship. Dashing his forehead against her hull, he so stove her in, that in less than "ten minutes" she settled down and fell over.<ref>Melville, Herman, ''Moby-Dick,'' chapter 45</ref> | | :In the year 1820 the ship Essex, Captain Pollard, of Nantucket, was cruising in the Pacific Ocean. One day she saw spouts, lowered her boats, and gave chase to a shoal of sperm whales. Ere long, several of the whales were wounded; when, suddenly, a very large whale escaping from the boats, issued from the shoal, and bore directly down upon the ship. Dashing his forehead against her hull, he so stove her in, that in less than "ten minutes" she settled down and fell over.<ref>Melville, Herman, ''Moby-Dick,'' chapter 45</ref> |