The theory of translation and its critical appraisal can be traced as far back as the 60s, albeit translation per se is a time-honoured practice. This awareness has produced a corpus of theoretical works examining the great complexity of the issue, and another huge paratextual one (prefaces, forewords, introductions, editor’s words) usually added to the texts by the translators.
The act of translating is viewed as a transcultural process which establishes the inextricable vehicular function and, ultimately, the raison d’être of translation itself.
The essay discusses the practice of literary translation starting with some examples of Italian translations of "A Room with a View" by E. M. Forster. It emerges that translation is only prima facie an exercise based on language, and that both translation and literature necessarily inhabit the same world because they preside over the mental capacity to form ideologies. Translation is therefore defined as a creative act, the art of transformation as opposed to mere repetition.
