Translations of Goethe; Ongoing Project

[Leanne]

Edit: what I mean to ask is, how is accentual verse different from metrical? My understanding is that accentual is metrical but metrical is not accentual. Similar to a simile vs metaphor.

Actually, you've got that around the wrong way. Accentual meter means that there's a regular pattern of stresses independent of metric feet or number of syllables. Metric verse is made up of a set pattern of feet -- so a line of iambic tetrameter has 4 stresses, 8 syllables, no deviation. A line of anapaestic tetrameter has 4 stresses and 12 syllables. A line of accentual verse may have 4 stresses but anywhere from 7 to 12 syllables (even more if you're really stretching it). This means that metric verse is always accentual as there will always be the same stress pattern -- but accentual verse is not metric, or at least not in any regular way.

There was a king of Thule -- there WAS/ a KING/ of THULE -- iambic trimeter, 3 stresses
who loved, to the very end, -- who LOVED/ to the VER/y END -- 2 stresses, two iambs with an anapaest in the middle
his maiden's chalice jeweled -- his MAID/en's CHAL/ice JEWELED -- 3 iambs if you say "jeweled" as one syllable, so 3 stresses
death’s finest ruby red. -- death's FIN/est RU/by RED -- 3 iambs, 3 stresses -- or at a stretch, a spondee (DEATH'S FINE) and 2 iambs

At each feast he drank -- AT /each FEAST/ he DRANK -- headless iamb + 2 iambs, so 3 stresses
and spoke of no one else; -- and SPOKE/of NO/one ELSE -- 3 iambs, 3 stresses
From heaven she watched him drink, -- from HEA/ven she WATCHED/ him DRINK -- iamb, anapaest, iamb -- 3 stresses
so oft he drank to heaven’s health. -- so OFT /he DRANK/ to HEAV/en's HEALTH -- 4 iambs, 4 stresses

And when death came for him, -- and WHEN/ death CAME/ for HIM -- 3 iambs, 3 stresses
he took the cup to hide; -- he TOOK/ the CUP/ to HIDE -- 3 iambs, 3 stresses
He gave away his kingdom, -- he GAVE/ aWAY/ his KINGdom -- 3 iambs, last with a feminine ending, 3 stresses
but none would take her ruby eyes. -- but NONE /would TAKE/ her RU/by EYES -- 4 iambs, 4 stresses

I gave up scanning after this because I saw this comment: "This pattern creates a song that concludes at the end of the first three stanzas. The fourth stanza creates a song that does not conclude. The penultimate creates a story, the final creates a conclusion." This I find to be utter nonsense. Most of your meter is iambic, so why not just render the whole thing into iambs and be done with it? Meter, accent, syllable count or whatever has no bearing on whether or not a poem or song "concludes". When we use a metric pattern we are setting up a solid skeleton for the words to hang on -- in English there are some syllables that are privileged slightly more than others but are still not considered stressed. It is always best to avoid demoting words like "death" to the unaccented part of the foot -- important words should fit into the line in such a way that they are allowed emphasis.

Accentual verse allows for more unstressed syllables but it's not really something that ought to be mucked about with when you're only working in trimeter (for the most part). What's the point? You have iambs. Use them.