Sprung rhythm is a poetic rhythm that imitates natural speech and is characterized by an irregular number of syllables per foot:
Feet: A foot in sprung rhythm can have one to four syllables, with the first syllable stressed.
Rhythm: Stressed syllables often occur sequentially, rather than alternating with unstressed syllables.
Extra syllables: Unstressed syllables that are not given the same emphasis as those around them are called "outrides" or "hangers".
Verse form: Sprung rhythm allows for any number of feet per line.
Origin: Developed by 19th-century English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Examples: Hopkins believed that sprung rhythm existed in Shakespeare, Old English poetry, Milton, Dryden, and Samson Agonistes. He also pointed out that many nursery rhymes use sprung rhythm, such as "Díng, Dóng, Béll, Pússy's in the wéll".
Feet: A foot in sprung rhythm can have one to four syllables, with the first syllable stressed.
Rhythm: Stressed syllables often occur sequentially, rather than alternating with unstressed syllables.
Extra syllables: Unstressed syllables that are not given the same emphasis as those around them are called "outrides" or "hangers".
Verse form: Sprung rhythm allows for any number of feet per line.
Origin: Developed by 19th-century English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Examples: Hopkins believed that sprung rhythm existed in Shakespeare, Old English poetry, Milton, Dryden, and Samson Agonistes. He also pointed out that many nursery rhymes use sprung rhythm, such as "Díng, Dóng, Béll, Pússy's in the wéll".
