Dethroning the dictionary (lexical equivalence in poetry translation from Danish to English)

Though absolute lexical equivalence is now regarded as an impossible goal b y most translation theorists, a vestige of this long-held ideal is a tenden cy among literary translators to focus solely on lexical meaning, while ign oring non-lexical features of a text. This article explores the implication s of this 'tyranny of the dictionary' as it applies to poetry translation i n particular, using an example of translation from Danish into English. It goes on to consider the obstacles poetry translators face when seeking perm ission to publish their work, especially when source-language authors and p ublishers who hold the keys to copyright, continue to judge translations ac cording to the myth of lexical equivalence.