Sprung rhythm
Sprung rhythm is a
Some critics believe he merely coined a name for poems with mixed, irregular feet, like free verse. However, while sprung rhythm allows for an indeterminate number of syllables to a foot, Hopkins was very careful to keep the number of feet per line consistent across each individual work, a trait that free verse does not share. Sprung rhythm may be classed as a form of accentual verse, as it is stress-timed, rather than syllable-timed,[2] and while sprung rhythm did not become a popular literary form, Hopkins's advocacy did assist in a revival of accentual verse more generally.[3]
Example
The Windhover
To Christ our Lord
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!
No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
Scansion
Since Hopkins considers that feet always begin in a stressed syllable in sprung rhythm, for a scansion it is enough to specify which syllables are stressed. One proposed scansion[4] of this poem is
I cáught this mórning mórning's mínion, kíng-
dom of dáylight's dáuphin, dapple-dáwn-drawn Fálcon, in his ríding
Of the rólling level úndernéath him steady áir, and stríding
Hígh there, how he rúng upon the réin of a wímpling wíng
In his écstasy! then óff, óff fórth on swíng,
As a skáte's heel sweeps smóoth on a bów-bend: the húrl and glíding
Rebúffed the bíg wínd. My héart in híding
Stírred for a bírd, – the achíeve of, the mástery of the thíng!
Brute béauty and válour and áct, oh, air, príde, plume, hére
Buckle! ÁND the fíre that bréaks from thee thén, a bíllion
Tímes told lóvelier, more dángerous, Ó my chevalíer!
No wónder of it: shéer plód makes plóugh down síllion
Shíne, and blúe-bleak émbers, áh my déar,
Fall, gáll themsélves, and gásh góld-vermílion.
The scansion of this poem is discussed in Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins.[5] Authorities disagree about the scansion.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Sprung Rhythm in Hopkins", Britannica Online
- ^ In the Classic Mode: The Achievement of Robert Bridges, by Donald Elwin Stanford, 1978, pp. 81–92; see p. 81 for "Sprung rhythm ... is a special kind of accentual verse"
- ^ "Accentual verse", Dana Gioia
- ^ Kiparsky, Paul. Sprung Rhythm in Phonetics and Phonology, Volume 1: Rhythm and Meter, edited by Paul Kiparsky and Gilbert Youmans, Academic Press, 1989
- ^ Gardner, W. H. and Mackenzie, N.H. Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Oxford University Press, Fourth edition, 1967.
References
- Schneider, E. W. (June 1965). "Sprung Rhythm: A Chapter in the Evolution of Nineteenth-Century Verse". PMLA. 80 (3): 237–253. JSTOR 461271.