Figures du Poète-Traducteur: Friedrich Hölderlin et Gérard de Nerval

What is it about?

In the wake of recent discussions on the status of literary translation, poets who have also committed themselves to the practice of translation become increasingly important. This article aims to examine, from a comparative perspective, the double role of translation as an art and a science. To this end, I will closely examine two case studies which deal with this fundamental question. Poet-translators such as Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) and Gérard de Nerval (1808- 1855) will constitute the main focus of this article. Their attitude towards what came to be known as the challenge of the other (fr: l’épreuve de l’autre) will be discussed. Through an analysis of their literary translations, this article proposes a new theoretical approach to the study of poetic language, which will be seen as a space rather than an instrument. In this context, it will be possible to illustrate the various interconnections between French and German literature in the early nineteenth century. Moreover, it will be possible to forge new pathways towards a better understanding of the artistic value of literary translation and to respond to the crucial question of fidelity to the original text.

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