A relevance-based approach to poetry in translation

It is often claimed that the evaluation of translated poetry is a subjectiv e affair, and that no method can account for what is kept and lost in trans lation. In this article, a relevance-based approach is adopted to analyse p oems in translation from English into Spanish, using the notion of inferenc e in order to determine whether the translations have respected the lines o f thought and connotations of the original. Our main objective is to furnis h a tool for comparing different translations of an original poem. Notions originating from relevance theory are used to discuss controversial issues such as the components of poetic language, processing cost and imitation of style. Two translations of a poem by Emily Dickinson and a translation of a poem by Marianne Moore serve as practical examples of relevance-based cri ticism of poetry in translation.