Prior to 1900, most English poetry was formal. Early in the 20th century, however, Modernist poets became skeptical of meter, rhyme, and traditional forms. Modernist poets felt traditional social orders had been upended, and that meant traditional forms needed to be upended, too. As a result, Modernist poets like T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein largely eschewed meter, rhyme, and traditional forms and wrote free-verse poems instead. Additionally, the Modernist movement was so influential that most subsequent poets followed suit and wrote primarily in free verse as well.

Gunn, however, was an exception. His career spanned the latter half of the 20th century, a time when most of his contemporaries were writing in free verse, yet Gunn wrote primarily in form, and “From the Wave” is a good example. While later in his career, Gunn did experiment more with free verse, it never became his predominant mode.