Line Length in Poetry

[mountainboo]

I was just wondering, what is the significance of variations in the length of a line in poems? I am currently analyzing Two Fusiliers by Robert Graves and have noticed he has used this method

And have we done with War at last?
Well, we’ve been lucky devils both,
And there’s no need of pledge or oath
To bind our lovely friendship fast,
By firmer stuff
Close bound enough.

By wire and wood and stake we’re bound,
By Fricourt and by Festubert,
By whipping rain, by the sun’s glare,
By all the misery and loud sound,
By a Spring day,
By Picard clay.

Show me the two so closely bound
As we, by the red bond of blood,
By friendship, blossoming from mud,
By Death: we faced him, and we found
Beauty in Death,
In dead men breath.

[whiskeryron]

Surely a rhyme should

[whiskeryron]

Flow and every line should go and go

[whiskeryron]

To make some sense a verse of mine

[whiskeryron]

Would lock together line by line.

[mike11111]

By using iambic pentameters in the first four lines of each verse the author lulls the reader into a gentle sense that all is well. By using a brutally short metre in the last two lines he draws attention the the reality he is describing.

[joggerjayne]

Surely those are quadrameters, rather than pentameters ?

[mountainboo]

Thanks Mike, your a bit of a well of knowledge, are you a teacher? Do you know why he says 'In dead men breath'?

[mountainboo]

OMG, what are quadrameters Jayne? I'm finding iambic pentameter and tetrameter hard enough to digest

[joggerjayne]

But the main point is still correct, mike.

The shorter lines pull you up sharply, and give a sense that the subject matter is quite harsh.

[joggerjayne]

Quadrameter is 4 units in a line ...

And have ... we done ... with War ... at last?

[mountainboo]

wouldn't that be iambic tetrameter, a line with 4 feet

[mike11111]

I am probably, if not definitely wrong when I say iambic pentameters. Tetrameters is more accurate as each line of the first four consist of four feet, so sorry for the bum steer. I would assume that by the phrase "In dead men breath" the author is alluding to the hereafter, in other words despite the horrors they have suffered they will live on in another world. I am not an expert in English Lit. and am more than happy to be contradicted. It's just that I remember that WWI poems were a major topic when I was at school.

[mountainboo]

I value your opinion Mike and it's all about personal interpretation so you cannot be wrong. I shall be glad when I finish this A-Level, as insightful and poignant as WW1 poetry is.