HEARING THE OTHER: POETICS, TRANSLATION AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN DR SEUSS’S HORTON HEARS A WHO!

This article examines the relationship between poetic form, translation, and identity construction through a case study of Dr Seuss’s narrative poem Horton Hears a Who! (1954). Drawing on translation studies, discourse analysis, and theories of children's literature, it investigates how linguistic and formal features contribute to the representation of selfhood, otherness, and social inclusion within the text. Particular attention is devoted to the challenges involved in translating poetic texts for children, where meaning is conveyed not only through lexical choices but also through rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, wordplay, and other stylistic devices. Through a comparative analysis of selected passages from the English source text and its Italian translation, the article explores the strategies adopted to reproduce Seuss’s highly distinctive poetic style and assesses the ideological implications of specific translational choices.