Why sometimes the meter is different in two lines yet they sound perfectly fine

Question

And sometimes two lines with same # of syllables sound off

Answer 1

I don't know but I'll tell you this, I always go with how it sounds to me when I read it out loud.  

Maybe it's just life telling us that "going by the numbers" isn't always the best choice.

Answer 2

Frequently the difference is between an iambic and a trochaic  or spondaic rhythm.The stresses in the lines do not correspond although the line contains the same number of syllables.  For a good example Jaberwocky can be sung to The Old 100th, We Three Kings, or Hernando's Hideaway, but if you try the texts of those to the others, it doesn't work.

[Here's one of mine with varied metre as an illustration:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...                         .]

Answer 3

Depends on the quality of the poet, I think.  

Some poets can write incredible stuff where every line has exactly the same number of syllables and the same pattern of stresses. In other cases, trying to make the words fit the pattern makes the line soud wrong.  [ IMO-- this is especially true in cases where the regular syntax of the sentence has to be thrown off in order to make it work, like "a voice I did hear" instead of "I heard a voice."]

On the other hand, some poets create powerful impact by changing the meter.  Sometimes they will maintain a pattern through most of a work, then deliberately break it to make the line stand out.  Sometimes it's just a matter of using the right words and letting them fit together the way they need to.

All in all, I think for either process it's the quality of the poet that determines whether it works or sounds wrong.

Answer 4

The toils and the beauty of the English language

If you think that's a quandary, try writing in Spanglish...

It's the pronunciation that makes the difference.

Pauses and accents or breaks in words and phrases often matter more than the number of syllables in a given writing.

Answer 5

Trying to match syllables causes the brain to stop flowing and search for answers. Thus we lose the flow of the words that when they came into out heads may have needed work but were actually perfect in their first thought yet came out not metered properly?

I think if you catch your readers attention and imagination it sounds right. If it sounds right in your head and when you read it out loud - that is what matters.

I call it poetic licence and it creates some beautiful work.