Simone Weil's The Iliad or the Poem of Force: A Critical Edition

By Simone Weil

Book Overview

Simone Weil, a brilliant young teacher, philosopher, and social activist, wrote the essay, The 'Iliad' or the Poem of Force at France at the beginning of World War II. Her profound meditation on the nature of violence provides a remarkably vivid and accessible testament of the Greek epic's continuing relevance to our lives. This celebrated work appears here for the first time in a bilingual version, based on the text of the authoritative edition of the author's complete writings. An introduction discusses the significance of the essay both in the evolution of Weil's thought and as a distinctively iconoclastic contribution to Homeric studies. The commentary draws on recent interpretations of the Iliad and examines the parallels between Weil's vision of Homer's warriors and the experiences of modern soldiers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0820463612
• ISBN13: 9780820463612
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi
• Length: 130 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

"The true hero, the true subject, the center of the Iliad, is force." - Simone Weil.

This is not the Iliad by Homer. It is a commentary that draws on recent interpretations of the Iliad and examines the parallels between Weil's vision of Homer's warriors and the experiences of modern soldiers. Simone Weil wrote the essay in 1939, just before World War II. First published in 1940 in the French literary journal Les Cahiers du Sud, under the title “L’Iliade ou le poème de la force”. The first English version, translated by Mary McCarthy, appeared in the U.S. journal Politics in 1945. I have not read "L'Iliade ou le poème de la force," which is a 24-page essay written by Simone Weil. The essay is about Homer's epic poem the Iliad. I am writing this review so you will not be confused about the content of this book.