ABSTRACT
My purpose in this chapter is twofold. First, I wish to present a particular view of metrical form in which the relation between rhythm in poetry and rhythm in music is explored. Secondly, I wish to use this view of metrical form as a means characterizing an era of English metrical history (roughly from 1850 to 1900) in which the musical principle in scansion was unusually important. By characterizing this period as a period of 'sprung rhythm', I am consciously extending the use of this phrase from Hopkins's own specialized use of it, and conveying my conviction that Hopkins's metrics, however idiosyncratic it may seem, represents a metrical trend typical of his period.
