The Iliad

Swift-footed Lord Achilles lay unmoving among the ships, because he was still angry about the woman with the pretty hair,

Immortal sleep was swirling all around him.

Hephaestus, the famous artisan whose legs are bent.

The others on Olympus will not help you when I lay overpowering hands upon you.”

“You startle me! You always have your notions!

He stayed there 640 and wore his heart away.

rage against the Greeks,

The use of both variants can provide energy and variety of pacing within a regular rhythm; iambic verse without any first-foot inversions or falling final syllables risks sounding too trit-trot, too monotonous.

On occasion, I needed to use a few more words to achieve that aim—although I also knew that pace and momentum were crucial elements of the gripping scenes of massacre and slaughter.