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Our syllable counter also displays the average syllables per word and average syllables per sentence.
When it comes to writing, the syllable is simply the smallest building block we work with when creating any piece, be it a novel, an essay, an article, a marketing email or poem. For all but the last of those writing projects mentioned, there's a tendency to ignore syllable counts as we strive to create the intended impact with our words.
Let's explore how syllable count can affect the reader's experience and in turn, the effectiveness of your writing. We'll also discuss the reasons why and offer some advice on using syllable count to make your writing more engaging and compelling.
The importance of syllable count is most obvious when reading or writing poetry. With that in mind, let's take a look at that writing form.
When creating a poem, it's important to focus on meter. Without this element, a poem simply doesn't work. For example, consider the first two lines of a classic, High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee Jr:
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Visually, the lines appear somewhat different. The first line even has some extra punctuation. However, they read very much the same. That's because each line contains ten distinct syllables.
Try counting them out on your fingers as you read them. You'll also find that there's a natural tendency to emphasize the second syllable of every line: “daDUM, daDUM, daDUM.” So, in just these first two lines, a rhythm has been established, not by the words, but by the syllables in the lines. That rhythm is what's referred to as meter, and just for informational purposes, the type of emphasis is known as iambic pentameter:
Oh! I / have slipped / the sur / ly bonds / of Earth And danced / the skies / on laugh / ter-sil / vered wings;
The most important thing to notice in this example is how the author of this piece established how the poem should be read. It's the syllables, rather than the words in each line. Those little blocks are a very powerful tool for writers. By the way, if you take the time to study other poems, you'll find that even non-rhyming verse and free verse poems use syllables carefully.
Note: If you are writing a Haiku, make sure to use our special Haiku Checker!
While you may think the answer to that question is complex, the truth is very simple: We've been taught. Think about how you learned to read. Words were “sounded out,” syllable by syllable. (The formal term is syllabication.) Understanding the rhythm of what we read is as ingrained as all those phonetic combinations. That fact also accounts for an interesting phenomenon:
We naturally want to make all the lines “fit” into the established rhythm. We may even instinctively change the syllable count of a given word as we read it. That's not possible with just any word, of course.
Authors will often choose words that are more “flexible.” Flour (flou-r) and hour (hou-r), are examples of words a reader may automatically “adjust” to keep the rhythm intact. It's also important to understand that a reader may not do so. That's why poets have created words like “e'er(ever)” to maintain meter.
Before we move on, there's one more term you should get to know: flow. Along with other elements, syllables can also affect how smoothly your words move from line to line, stanza to stanza, paragraph to paragraph, and so on. We'll examine that a bit further shortly.
That's okay! Remember, we used poetry as an example because it's a very structured form of writing and an easy way to demonstrate some basic concepts.
The effects of syllables are equally important in other forms of writing, even if you're writing sales copy. The purpose of your writing is to engage and inform the reader. In order to do that effectively, it needs to set a pace that encourages the reader to move on. A subtle rhythm helps accomplish that. It's like a subliminal, gentle pull that keeps the eyes moving and the brain absorbing. It's an important part of the reason you “just can't put that book down,” too.
Take a look at your favorite book, an ad that's stuck with you (Does it have a jingle? There's a reason for that!) or any piece of writing you've found yourself compelled to read. Count the syllables in the various lines. Chances are good you'll find some consistency there. It's almost certain you'll find an upper and lower limit.
By the way, if you need some help keeping track, don't hesitate to keep track with our syllable counter above.
Now's a great time to look at the concept of flow. As you can already see, syllable counts can have a great impact on keeping the flow moving in your writing. Nice, steady meter helps your reader move through the text. Any disruption to that meter also interrupts flow.
Run-on sentences tend to annoy a reader. Likewise, a sentence that has a comparatively large or small number of syllables can cause a reader to “balk.” Words with unusually high syllable counts may also interrupt the flow.
That may not always be a bad thing. A disruption of flow can call attention to a point you really want to emphasize. Keep in mind that you'll need to restart that flow when the point is made.
If you're expecting parameters like how many syllables per line, there aren't any. Your projects will dictate what works best in each case. Just keep the concept of syllable count in mind and see if it doesn't improve the readability of what you commit to the page. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
We hope our tool will help you will all your syllable counting needs!