Traduzione e narrazione in Paul Ricœur

This paper examines Ricœur’s writings on translation which was the main focus of his research during the 1990s. Ricœur established a close link between translation and understanding, considering the latter as a pattern for hermeneutics. This itinerary through Ricœur’s hermeneutics will emphasize the close connections between his interpretation of the practice of translation and the poetics of narration developed in Time and narrative. In fact, this poetics and the notion of triple mimesis are the basis of every text construction. In the practice of translation, however, the ethical aspects already contained in Time and narrative, acquired a paramount importance. Moreover, this paper highlights the role played by imagination in the poetical praxis and in the narrative construction. In this way, the ethical principle that is at the basis of the practice of translation can be seen as an aspect of the work of the imagination which functions always according to narrative schemes.