Hi Amy
Yes Scaldskaparmal is the Poetic Diction.
It is the last part, the Hattatal that is sometimes not translated. I'm not sure why but it might have something to do with the tremendous amount
of kennings that it has.
A kenning is a poetic device, something like a simile.
When I tried reading it I had to constantly refer to the bottom of the page that would explain what many sentences meant.
I gave up after a few pages.
I believe that the Poetic Diction does have alot more prose than verse. After all, it is called the
Prose Edda.
Snorri did travel, but I am not sure if he collected the stories like a modern folklorist does: asking all types of peoples to reveal their stories.
He was very interested in Norwegian history. He wrote the Heimskringla (History of the Kings of Norway).
This large book is broken into many sections called sagas. It is not all history though. It consists of mainly tradition rather than hard history.
Some writers have likened them, as well as other sagas outside his book, as a type of historical fiction.
I'm sure scholars are kept very busy trying to disintangle history from myth.
Feel free to ask as many questions as you like. I will try and help even though I am no expert.