The Role of Literary Theory in Literary Translation

Abstract

In literary translation, the way quality of translation is judged shows some special features. The translator’s understanding of the source language text and his creative reconstruction of the target language text place the whole process of translation under the influence of literary theories. With a case analysis of three different translation versions of John Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn, this paper argues that based on the given features of literary translation, the relationships between the translator and the text, and the creative role of the translator in the process of translation, literary theory plays an essential role in literary translation.