Meter & Rhythm
Sprung Rhythm
Theorised and named by Hopkins in letters to Robert Bridges (1870s–80s). Hopkins claimed it was the natural rhythm of English speech and of Old English alliterative verse.
Definition
Gerard Manley Hopkins's system in which each foot begins with one stressed syllable followed by any number of unstressed syllables.
Example
'The world is charged with the grandeur of God. / It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.' (Hopkins)