French Literature Reviews - 2026

The Metamorphoses of Ulysses.
Comparative and World Literature

Just published:

The Metamorphoses of Ulysses: Rewritings of the Odyssey, introduction and dossier by Agathe Entanaclaz, GF-Flammarion, "Étonnants classiques", 2003. 162 p.

Did the adventures of Ulysses truly end in Ithaca? That is far from certain. After ten years of war in Troy and ten years of wandering across the Mediterranean, the Greek hero embarked on another journey—the journey of literature. From Virgil to Joyce, from Dante to Kubrick, he has continuously inspired artists, to the point where The Odyssey has become the most rewritten text in Western culture. "Ulysses of a thousand wiles," as Homer called him, now assumes a thousand disguises and a thousand faces, inviting us to follow him on this new voyage.

Anthology: Apollinaire, Aragon, Du Bellay, Boileau, Céline, Chateaubriand, Dante, Erasmus, Euripides, Fénelon, Gautier, Genette, Giono, Giraudoux, Homer, La Fontaine, La Motte, Mallarmé, Marivaux, Moravia, Queneau, Ronsard, Sainte-Maure, Scarron, Simon, Steiner, Virgil, Zola.

Introduction:
What can be rewritten?
Intertextual rewriting
Hypertextual rewriting
What is the purpose of rewriting?

Dossier:
Ulysses in Cinema
Glossary
Character Index.

The practice of rewriting classical myths has long served as a cornerstone of Western literary tradition, allowing authors to reinterpret foundational narratives through the lens of their own historical and cultural contexts. This volume presents an anthology of texts and an introduction concerning the rewriting of the Odyssey, featuring works by authors ranging from Homer to modern figures. It includes sections on intertextual and hypertextual rewriting, as well as a dossier on Ulysses in cinema, a glossary, and a character index.

This anthology gathers a diverse array of perspectives from various writers to illustrate the hero's presence in cultural discourse. It includes theoretical reflections on the nature of rewriting alongside creative texts. Readers interested in the history of classical reception and the mechanics of literary adaptation may find this collection relevant.