This paper deals with philosophical aspects of language and the translation of poetic work; the thought processes of poet and translator and how these processes are interpreted by Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer. The ideas of these two philosophers have a bearing on the work of a translator because they are instrumental in helping the translator attain a full understanding of a text. Selected poems by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda were chosen to exemplify some of the ideas expounded by the above mentioned philosophers.