Scansion Tool

15 Tools for Meter, Rhyme & Scansion

Free Poetry Scansion Tool — Meter, Rhyme & Syllable Analysis

Paste any poem and instantly see its meter, syllable counts, stress markings, rhyme scheme, and classical Latin/Greek quantitative verse — no sign-up, nothing uploaded.

Live Scansion Specimen˘ —
Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

Hover or click syllables to hear the alternating iambic pentameter pulse:

Foot 1
Foot 2
Foot 3
Foot 4
Foot 5
Iambic Pentameter (˘ —)
5 Metrical Feet · 10 Syllables · 5 Stresses

Interactive Workbench

Poem Scansion & Meter Analyzer

Click any syllable below to toggle stress markings manually

Analyzed locally — never uploaded

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Prosodic Anatomy

The Six Metrical Feet

Every structured line in English poetry is built from repeating metrical units. Explore their rhythm, notation, and cadence.

Iamb

Rising & Natural
˘ —
Rhythm Beat:da-DUM

"Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer's DAY"

— Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

Trochee

Falling & Chanting
— ˘
Rhythm Beat:DUM-da

"TYger TYger, BURNing BRIGHT"

— William Blake, The Tyger

Anapest

Rolling & Galloping
˘ ˘ —
Rhythm Beat:da-da-DUM

"Like a CHILD that is LOST in a CLOUD"

— Lord Byron, Stanzas for Music

Dactyl

Epic & Waltz-like
— ˘ ˘
Rhythm Beat:DUM-da-da

"THIS is the FOrest priMEval, the PINES"

— Longfellow, Evangeline

Spondee

Weighty & Emphatic
— —
Rhythm Beat:DUM-DUM

"ROUGH WINDS do SHAKE the DARling BUDS"

— Substituted Foot Emphasis

Pyrrhic

Swift & Light
˘ ˘
Rhythm Beat:da-da

"To the SWEET BIRD on the BOUGH"

— Substituted Acceleration

Scansion Suite

All 15 Specialized Scansion Tools

Dedicated analyzers for English, classical meters, and poetic forms

˘ — ˘ —English & Accentual

Poetry Meter Checker

Accentual-syllabic meter detection, iambic pentameter, feet scansion, and interactive stress chips.

Open Tool
ABAB CDCDEnglish & Accentual

Rhyme Scheme Generator

Phonetic ABAB/AABB labeling, perfect rhymes, slant rhymes, and eye rhyme diagnostics.

Open Tool
1 · 2 · 3English & Accentual

Syllable Counter for Poems

Line-by-line phonetic syllable counts, stanza averages, and interactive pronunciation overrides.

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˘ —English & Accentual

English Scansion Tool

Advanced syntactic stress heuristics, function-word suppression rules, and secondary stress handling.

Open Tool
AuditEnglish & Accentual

Scansion Checker

Metrical regularity audit, substitution diagnostics, pyrrhic/spondaic clusters, and consistency scores.

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14 LinesPoetic Forms

Sonnet Checker

Evaluate 14 lines, iambic pentameter rhythm, Shakespearean and Petrarchan rhyme patterns, and the volta.

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5 · 7 · 5Poetic Forms

Haiku Checker

Verify 3 lines and canonical 5-7-5 syllable structure with spoken pronunciation checks.

Open Tool
AABBAPoetic Forms

Limerick Checker

Audit 5 lines, AABBA rhyme scheme, and bouncy anapestic rhythm (da-da-DUM).

Open Tool
— ˘ ˘Classical & Quantitative

Latin Scansion Tool

Quantitative Latin meter: macron vowels, positional weights, elision (synaloepha), and elegiac distichs.

Open Tool
6-Foot EpicClassical & Quantitative

Dactylic Hexameter Scanner

Scan 6-foot classical epic verse from Virgil and Homer with dactyl/spondee substitution and caesura mapping.

Open Tool
PolytonicClassical & Quantitative

Greek Scansion Tool

Ancient Greek quantitative meter: polytonic accents, morae calculations, and Homeric epic verse.

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SenariusClassical & Quantitative

Iambic Senarius Tool

Scan 6-foot Roman theatrical comedic and tragic verse from Seneca, Plautus, and Terence.

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DipodyClassical & Quantitative

Metron Scansion Tool

Dipodic double-foot measurement, iambic/trochaic trimeter decomposition, and anceps positions.

Open Tool
360° ReportAnalytics & Print

Comprehensive Poem Analyzer

Multi-dimensional report: lexical richness (TTR), stanza architecture, alliteration, and reading pace.

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PDF WorksheetsAnalytics & Print

Scansion Tool PDF Generator

Export clean, printable scansion answer keys and student blank practice worksheets.

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Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Click on any question below to expand the answer.

What is scansion and how does it work?

Scansion is the systematic analysis of poetic rhythm by marking syllables as stressed (—) or unstressed (˘), grouping them into metrical feet (iambs, trochees, anapests, dactyls), and identifying the overarching meter of the poem.

Is my poem or unpublished draft safe and private?

Yes, 100%. Scansion Tool processes all text, phonetic lookups, and scansion algorithms entirely inside your browser's local memory. No poem text is ever transmitted, uploaded, or stored on external servers.

How accurate is the automatic pronunciation dictionary and scansion engine?

The engine uses the 134,000-word CMU Pronouncing Dictionary paired with syntactic function-word stress suppression heuristics. Every result carries an honest confidence rating, and all syllable chips can be clicked to manually adjust stress markings.

Which classical languages and poetic forms are supported?

The suite supports English accentual-syllabic verse, Japanese-style Haiku (5-7-5), Limericks (AABBA), 14-line Sonnets, Classical Latin quantitative hexameter & elegiacs, and Ancient Greek polytonic epic & tragic verse.

Can educators generate printable worksheets for classroom use?

Yes! The Scansion Tool PDF Generator lets teachers and students export vector-quality scansion answer keys or blank student practice worksheets formatted for standard printing.