This thesis presents an idea of life in the youthful writings of Walter Benjamin. This period of the author s thinking is acknowledged by his critics as of a metaphysics of youth and it is connected to a complex set of influences. In this context, this research highlights the author s intermittent dialog with the various manifestations of the so-called philosophies of life. This dialog has been little studied by researchers of his work, but it is essential for a more appropriate understanding of the philosopher s acclaimed theories related to language and to politics. The deep reading of the thinker s writings stands out as a research procedure for taking out elements that can be suited for building a constellation of concepts connected to the idea of life. Therefore, this work begins with the analysis of Benjamin s discussions over the students life in the context of life reformation in Germany in the beginning of the 20th century and tries to apprehend the association of life with the notion of endless task. Subsequently, the research approaches the author s works that discuss literary criticism and translation theory in order to evaluate how life, in its relationship with language, can be understood as a form. This task is also suited for the evaluation of the author s perspective regarding the preservation of a survival of life in history. In its final chapter, this study deals with Benjamin s eccentric readings on the relationship between the psychophysical problem and the comprehension of politics, in which the reciprocal bond between history and life would prevail. It is established in this direction Benjamin s criticism to power over mere life and to its mythical definition as a paradigm to whole life.