Homer in the Twentieth Century : Simone Weil and Rachel Bespaloff

Publication Type

Book

Year of Publication

2006

Author

Beye, Charles Rowan

Pages

18

Publisher

Occasional Works

Place Published

Menlo Park, CA

Language

English

Keywords

force
Homer
Iliad
pacifism
Bespaloff, Rachel
war

Annotation

The author begins with brief biographies of Weil and Bespaloff noting what they shared in their approach to the Iliad. He then goes on to offer a fairly lengthy critique of Weil’s essay on the Iliad noting where the historical circumstances in which she lived coloured her interpretation at times to the point, of actually misinterpreting or misrepresenting the text. This discussion is followed by a briefer treatment of Bespaloff’s work, again looking at the lens through which she viewed the text.