Metre (4)

An important point is that each metre has its own emotional overtones, and changing the weight and pace of the lines will alter their mood. However, before the listener can tell that the metre shifts from, say, a stomp to a flutter, first that stomp pattern has to be established and heard. In other words, one line alone won’t do it. A few lines at least are necessary to make any given metre audible. Sometimes sections in metre can be set off dramatically by dropping in a passage of free verse. In other words, a key to manipulating the listener’s response is setting up audible contrasts.