TRANSLATING POETRY

This paper is based on a conference, later published in the book Enseigner les oe uvres litteraires en traduction (2006), in which the author reflects on the translation of poetry and its alleged impossibility. Following a historical perspective, examples drawn from canonical authors of Italian, French, German literature, as well as Greek and Latin classics, are presented in order to highlight the dialectical relationship between original and translation, particularly with regard to poetic texts.