Words per line

Words per line (WPL) is an analytical metric used in sonnet studies to determine the linguistic density of a poem.

The WPL is determined by dividing the number of words in a sonnet by fourteen. A monosyllabic poem written in iambic pentameter would therefore have a WPL of exactly 10. The fewer words a sonnet contains, the lower its number of words per line will be.

William Shakespeare's sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?," for example, consists of 114 words in iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's poem thus has a WPL of 8.143. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet "How do I love thee?" consists of 126 words, and thus has a WPL of 9.000.