The Ship of Theseus paradox, which has sparked debate for thousands of years, centers on the Greek hero switching out each decaying plank of wood on his ship for a new one. The question of identity and change arises: Can we say the new version is still, functionally, the same ship? Or, more crucially, did replacing the ship's planks significantly change its identity?
Works of literary translation have, at times, been compared to this paradox. If all the words are new, does the text retain its identity? Debates on this question differ based on a work’s form. The discourse around translated poetry, for instance, is different from that around translated prose.
