Sentence:  Although the development of this work, complex and compelling in its own right, lies beyond the scope of the present study, a “<WSD>Pisgah</WSD> view” of "Billy Budd"... discloses its presentation, among many other things, of a sharply drawn retrospective allegory of Melville's rhetorical career. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A glimpse of a distant sight; an overview of a situation; a position that affords a view.