The Arab Ulysses:Interpretation and the Translator sExperience and Identity

The hermeneutic approach was developed by German scholars (Lafont 1999) mainly within philosophy. The present paper elaborates on a theoretical linguistic designate named the Interpretive Frame (IF) (Al-Shabab 2007). It investigates two elements of the IF, experience and identity, showing how the translator uses his own experience to project his identity in his translation. The experience of the translator of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” finds its echoes in the wandering and suffering of Ulysses. Arabic language and culture, which have a tendency to favour lyrical poetry and heroic characters, provide the translator with a rich background enabling him to creatively express his identity. Thus, the translated poem portrays the translator as a determined traveller looking in the horizon for further experience and far away lands.