This discussion of the extensive range of Thomas Hardy's metrical poetry, sees his work as an important link between traditional and free verse, and between Victorian and modern theories of the stanza. His experiments were rooted in dramatic developments made by Victorian metrical theorists, who, nurtured by Hegelian ideas and theories of Gothic architecture, achieved a mature understanding of the abstract nature of metrical form. More than any other English poet, Hardy experimented with hundreds of stanza forms in which he mixed original and traditional elements; the metri cal glossary included here is considered to be the most exhaustive now available. The book is designed to appeal to those interested in Thomas Hardy as well as those interested in poetry, metre, nineteenth century intellectual history and Victorian England.