The question of translation at the end of the 18th century has been the subject of numerous investigations, based on decidedly intuitive hypotheses as regards the nature and function of literary translations. Points of convergence have not been lacking, the importance of the translational phenomenon, as much in the literary context as in that of education or the teaching of languages, has always been admitted without discussion. The validity of these views will not be questioned in this article. Rather a number of questions will be defined more precisely. The aim is only to delineate in a general way the structure and evolution of the system of translated poetry. The author focuses more on the description of the processes, not so much on more or less detailed description of isolated phenomena. The author divides the article in three parts: 1/the opposition between a dominant and a non-dominant translational model, 2/ a new translational model of an intermediary type, 3/ a renewed model around 1830.