Ouch, I'd hate to have to translate 'Alice'. That has to be one of the more extreme examples, with not only wordplay but also deliberate poetic amphigory (is it even possible to translate Jabberwocky?). It can be seen with the Bible and poetry, some versions keeping the poetic forms intact but losing meaning, some using a different poetic form from the destination language and others going for the meaning and losing the poetry.
My preference with a language that I only partially understand is a combined translation, with both a "readable in English" form and an 'interlinear' form (with the original interspersed with a literal translation). That way I can real it for comprehension but can also refer to the original for the literal meanings, poetry and wordplay. I have a volume of the Norse "Poetic Edda" done like that, it really needs the original for the poetic aspect but my Norse isn't good enough to to understand it just from the original. One of my versions of the Bible is like that as well (Greek interlinear).
Re: German translations
My preference with a language that I only partially understand is a combined translation, with both a "readable in English" form and an 'interlinear' form (with the original interspersed with a literal translation). That way I can real it for comprehension but can also refer to the original for the literal meanings, poetry and wordplay. I have a volume of the Norse "Poetic Edda" done like that, it really needs the original for the poetic aspect but my Norse isn't good enough to to understand it just from the original. One of my versions of the Bible is like that as well (Greek interlinear).