ABSTRACT
What happens when the alexandrine verse, which is so intimately embedded in France’s cultural and political history, is translated? As a critical reflection, a translation workshop was held in an Introduction to French Literature course. Students worked on translating a short poem from French into English; they were required to accompany their work with a set of notes or a short essay explaining and justifying the specific choices made during the translation process and to make reference to previous translations and translators of the same poem, explaining the specific reasons for which their own translation is similar or different. The primary pedagogical objectives of this translation workshop were to help them to (1) develop aesthetic responsiveness; (2) become attuned to the poet’s creative decisions; (3) develop a deeper understanding of French poetic form; (4) become critically aware of the challenges of interlingually translating works of art; and (5) reflect on the connotative nuances of poetry.
