In recreating the Coopers' The Fall of Man, I elected to translate the text. As a group we agreed that a contemporary version would make the performance easier and be more congenial with the audience. Therefore, my task was to weed out anachronisms and phrases which are no longer used and replace them with current diction while maintaining the structure.
Initially, I attempted to maintain the rhyme and meter as well, but I failed miserably. After several hours of madness (to say the least), I realized I was merely 17 lines into the text. That was the end of rhyme and meter (no offense poets). Perhaps, the only aspect I consistently and accurately sustained throughout the translation was the structure with, of course, one or two errors here and there.
Overall, I enjoyed the challenge. We tend to under-value the work of the translator and even criticize the translation for betraying the original text. What we do not consider are the difficulties that arise when attempting to maintain the author's voice. I believe I now have a vague understanding of the translator's dilemma.