What is Sprung Rhythm?
A poetic rhythm characterized by the use of stressed syllables and varied unstressed syllables.
Spring Your Writing to Life with Sprung Rhythm
Sprung rhythm is a poetic device that emerged in the late 19th century and was beloved by renowned poets such as Gerard Manley Hopkins and W.B. Yeats. It is characterized by the use of stressed syllables and varied unstressed syllables, and adds a unique musicality to poetry that electrifies the lines and imbues them with a lively energy.
Although sprung rhythm has a basis in traditional poetic meter, it allows for greater flexibility in the placement of unstressed syllables and the avoidance of monotonous, sing-song rhythms. This results in a distinctive, syncopated rhythm that resounds throughout the poem, emphasizing certain words and phrases and giving the poem a unique sense of momentum and lyricality.
By using sprung rhythm in your own writing, you can not only add complexity and depth to your work, but also create a sound and pattern unique to your own voice and style. Experiment with varying the placement of unstressed syllables and playing with line length and structure to explore the endless possibilities of this dynamic and versatile poetic device.
Gerard Manley Hopkins was a master of sprung rhythm, and his poem 'Hurrahing in Harvest' exemplifies this skill with its lively and syncopated meter:
"And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--
W.B. Yeats also employed sprung rhythm in his work, including his celebrated poem 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree':
"And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.