Stressed and unstressed syllable

A stressed syllable is the one spoken with extra force in a word, and an unstressed syllable is spoken more lightly; the pattern of the two makes the meter of a poem.

Say "SUMmer" and "comPARE". In the first the opening syllable is stressed and in the second the closing one is. That difference is the raw material of meter.

What it is

English words carry stress built into them. Meter is the pattern that stressed and unstressed syllables make across a line. Little words like "the", "of" and "to" are usually unstressed, and the key nouns and verbs usually take the stress. Stress is about force, not loudness or length.

Why it matters to a writer or editor

Stress is how the ear hears a poem even before it knows the names of the feet. A writer who reads a draft aloud and notices where the stresses fall can fix most rhythm problems without any technical vocabulary.

Frequently asked questions

How can you tell which syllable is stressed?

Say the word aloud and notice where your voice leans. In "summer" it leans on the first syllable and in "compare" on the second. A dictionary also marks the stress.