[Tlhingan-hol] Verse form of paq'batlh

[David Trimboli]

I'm now reading the paq'batlh, and in trying to understand why certain 
translation choices were made, I want to understand the verse structure.

We are told in Okrand's foreword that Klingon epic literature consists 
of stanzas of three lines of unequal length (with the qualifier 
"usually" on each of those descriptors).

Is there any more to it than this, or is there anything else 
constraining the verse, such as meter, rhyme, or alliteration? Or did 
the writers just use anything they wanted, provided it was in three-line 
verses?

--

By the way, I now understand the fictional origins of the paq'batlh. A 
mysterious set of files was found on a server under suggestive 
circumstances. These files are a lofty English translation of the 
paq'batlh. Whether they were based on no' Hol or modern Klingon is 
unknown. These files form the primary source of the paq'batlh presented 
in the published book, and from which Okrand *re*translated into modern 
Klingon.

Other sources act as supplements, including fragments of the prologue in 
no' Hol (the derivation of ta' Hol from no' Hol seems fairly obvious).

So the fictional situation is identical to the actual situation: 
paq'batlh is a translation of an English text by Okrand with editorial 
assistance by qep'a' attendees. Fictionally, it is unknown whether Maltz 
or any other Klingon contact assisted Okrand with his translation. The 
book attributes the translation to Okrand and his qep'a' assistants; no 
other credits of translation are given.

-- 
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/