Svein, oSooSoSSoS could indeed be IP if the words supported it. Your previous line didn't, because "rare sight" is a whole phrase, not one that breaks in the middle.
You would need a word pattern that fit together like this:
oS/ooS/oS/^S/oS
For years/ she has been/ the best/ friend/ I have./
or this:
oS/ooS/oS/So/^S
For years/ she has been/ a rare/ vision/ to me./
For years/ it has been/ a most/ welcome/ retreat./
Did Hamsun use the cliche "sight to see," or are you just resorting to redundancy (what else do you do with a sight but see it?) and cliche for the sake of reproducing his rhyme and exact scansion in English? If he used cliche then by all means translate to cliche, but if you mean to do him justice, the translation should be as good in English as the original is in Norwegian.
Carol
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