Page "Dactylic hexameter" Paragraph 14

The Homeric poems arrange words in the line so that there is an interplay between the metrical ictus — the first long syllable of each foot — and the natural, spoken accent of words.

If these two features of the language coincide too frequently, they overemphasize each other and the hexameter becomes sing-songy.

Nevertheless, some reinforcement is desirable so that the poem has a natural rhythm.

Balancing these two considerations is what eventually leads to rules regarding the correct placement of the caesura and breaks between words ; in general, word breaks occur in the middle of metrical feet, while accent and ictus coincide only near the end of the line.