Le Traducteur, Re-créateur du Texte Littéraire The Translator, A Recreator of Literary Texts

Abstract

This study explores the creative dimension of literary translation by examining how translators move beyond mere stylistic reformulation to engage in a profound reinterpretation of the source text. The central research question addresses the following: to what extent does literary translation constitute a re-creative act, and how can the translator preserve the essence of the source text while introducing interpretative agency? Anchored in a translation studies framework, the paper proposes that translation, particularly of poetic texts, demands not only linguistic competence but also cognitive flexibility, aesthetic sensitivity, and interpretative insight. To investigate this hypothesis, the study adopts a qualitative, text-based methodology, grounded in close reading and comparative textual analysis. The object of analysis is Conte, a prose poem by French poet Arthur Rimbaud, selected for its richness in rhythm, imagery, and tonal ambiguity. The study examines the interplay between source and target texts by identifying moments of semantic density, phonetic patterning, and rhetorical complexity. Particular attention is paid to how the translator interprets and reconfigures these features in the target language, thus enacting a form of literary re-creation. The findings show that the translator’s engagement with the text is not limited to a passive transfer of meaning but involves a dynamic process of appropriation, reformulation, and stylistic negotiation. The act of translation becomes a site of co-authorship, where the translator’s reading is filtered through personal impressions, intertextual references, and cultural knowledge. Each translation choice reflects a balance between fidelity and transformation, positioning the translator as both reader and creator. This study argues for a reconceptualization of the translator’s role, challenging traditional models of translation as interlingual equivalence. Instead, it posits a model in which the translator functions as a re-creator, responsible for generating a target text that resonates with the original while asserting its own artistic legitimacy. The case of Conte reveals that creative translation is not a deviation from fidelity, but a mode of textual engagement that brings new life to literary works across linguistic boundaries.