Summary
Attributed to Homer, The Iliad, along with The Odyssey, is among the oldest literary documents in the Greek language. This epic war story depicts seven key weeks during the battle for Ilium, or Troy, culminating in the decisive battle between Achilles and Hector. More importantly, The Iliad attempts to define the qualities of the heroic character. Here in a single volume, students will find some of the leading critical analyses available on this ancient work. Completely updated, and incorporating the best new material available, this Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations edition is especially suited for those working on complex research papers. The full-length essays are accompanied by additional helpful features, including a chronology, background information on the contributors, and a bibliography.
Specifications
Chronology. Bibliography. Index.
About the Author(s)
Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University. Educated at Cornell and Yale universities, he is the author of 30 books, including Shelley's Mythmaking (1959), The Visionary Company (1961), Blake's Apocalypse (1963), Yeats (1970), A Map of Misreading (1975), Kabbalah and Criticism (1975), Agon: Toward a Theory of Revisionism (1982), The American Religion (1992), The Western Canon (1994), Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection (1996), and Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998), a 1998 National Book Award finalist. The Anxiety of Influence (1973) sets forth Professor Bloom's provocative theory of the literary relationships between the great writers and their predecessors. His most recent books include How to Read and Why (2000), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds (2002), Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (2003), Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (2004), and Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine (2005). In addition, he is the author of hundreds of articles, reviews, and editorial introductions. In 1999, Professor Bloom received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism. He has also received the International Prize of Catalonia, the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Mexico, and the Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennial Prize of Denmark.