Antoine Berman’s Literary Translation Criticism Revisited

Abstract

This paper offers a schematic summary of the methodology for literary translation criticism as developed by Antoine Berman in Pour une critique des traductions: John Donne. Our aim is to offer young researchers, interested in the field of literary translation, an accessible account of the method developed by the French scholar. In our attempt to facilitate their access to it, we offer concrete examples of the categories of position, project, and horizon. We conclude by outlining possible limitations of the method, but also by suggesting ways of adapting it to diverse theoretical approaches, both traditional and contemporary.