In class as I was talking with Prof. Burton he mentioned looking at the use of iambic pentameter in German translations of Shakespeare. I said that in the German translations they did not use prose much, that German did not lend itself well to iambic pentameter because in German the first syllable is stressed. I must admit that I was wrong. Partly. German is stressed more on the first syllable, but that doesn't mean that German does not use iambic pentameter. Especially Goethe and Schiller, after falling in love with Shakespeare, used iambic pentameter in their poetry.
Here is the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet in German. I have bolded the accented syllable to show the iambic pentameter, and I have written the number of feet at the end of each line. A + indicates that there is an extra syllable.
Doch still, was schimmert durch das Fenster dort? 5
Es ist der Ost, und Julia die Sonne!— 5+
Geh auf, du holde Sonn! Ertöte Lunen, 5+
Die neidisch ist und schon vor Grame bleich, 5
Daß du viel schöner bist, obwohl ihr dienend. 5+
O da sie neidisch ist, so dien ihr nicht! 5
Nur Toren gehn in ihrer blassen, kranken 5+
Vestalentracht einher; wirf du sie ab! 5
Sie ist es, meine Göttin, meine Liebe! 5+
O wüßte sie, daß sie es ist!— 4
Sie spricht, doch sagt sie nichts: was schadet das? 5
Ihr Auge redt, ich will ihm Antwort geben.— 5+
Ich bin zu kühn, es redet nicht zu mir. 5
Ein Paar der schönsten Stern am ganzen Himmel 5+
Wird ausgesandt und bittet Juliens Augen, 5+
In ihren Kreisen unterdes zu funkeln. 5+
Doch wären ihre Augen dort, die Sterne 5+
In ihrem Antlitz? Würde nicht der Glanz 5
Von ihren Wangen jene so beschämen 5+
Wie Sonnenlicht die Lampe? Würd ihr Aug 5
Aus luftgen Höhn sich nicht so hell ergießen, 5+
Daß Vögel sängen, froh den Tag zu grüßen? 5+
O wie sie auf die Hand die Wange lehnt! 5
Wär ich der Handschuh doch auf dieser Hand 5+
Und küßte diese Wange! 3
What is interesting is that Schlegel tried his very best, and did a great job, at translating the meaning of the words as well as the meter. But, he was constrained by his native language, which generally tends to be longer than English. The one thing people tend to know about German is its love of long words, like the classic Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän ( Donau/Danube steamship company captain). So, in the balcony scene, while Schlegel did use iambic pentameter, a lot of the lines are hypercatalectic, having an extra syllable at the end of the line, 14 of the 25 lines in this speech are hypercatalectic. It is also interesting to note that two lines are short a foot or two of the five required for pentameter -- but these lines are also shorter in the original English, the lines "Oh that she knew she were", and "That I might touch that cheek", which have three feet each.
So, it appears from this, that German can just as well be rendered into iambic pentameter as English, as long as one does not mind the occasional irregularity, but that many translators do not make this extra effort. None of the plays that I have read in German have followed the meter of the original English, but I may have to find more of the Schlegel translations if I want to enjoy that prose.
Does it really make a difference, though? Does Shakespeare need to be written in iambic pentameter? What is more important about a Shakespeare play, the way the words sound or what the words mean? On which should we put a higher emphasis when translating? If we look at modern translations, it becomes obvious that people put more store in the meaning of the Shakespearean text than in the actual words used and how they sounded.
What are your thoughts? Should translators of Shakespeare try to preserve the meter of Shakespeare's plays, or should they focus more on meaning behind the words? Which is more important to you, as a reader or enjoyer of Shakespeare?
