Octavio Paz: the unstranslatable Indian

Abstract

Based on the awareness of the intrinsic difficulty that exists in every act
of translation –especially in the poetic language–, this article aims at
echoing this act as a bridge between cultures, paying attention to the
various intricacies with which the translating activity can operate. Thus,
with Octavio Paz as a guiding thread and focus of thought; the hypothesis
to be worked on here is that, despite the latent untranslatability of
poetic activity, this polysemic work remains more than necessary to create
common fabrics between languages, from which they derive in turn,
artistic and social growth. The poem is, therefore, an eternal space of
conflicts that are never completely solved; but which, nevertheless, it is
worthwhile to continue to approach and try to think from — as the Mexican
poet teaches us well — the complexity and depth of this symbolic
and diverse language.