# 8s & 7s checker

Shape a four-line draft against 8 · 7 · 8 · 7 trochaic hymn meter. Same syllable and stress engine as the lyriic poetry editor — private in your browser.

## A short history

In English hymnals, meter is written as syllable counts per line — 8.7.8.7 (or “8s & 7s”) means a quatrain of eight, seven, eight, and seven syllables. The same numbers appear as 8.7.8.7.D when the pattern doubles to eight lines, a common shape for longer hymn texts.

Most classic 8s & 7s hymns are trochaic: a falling DUM-da beat, with the seven-syllable lines catalectic (they drop the final weak syllable and end on a stress). Hymnal indexes also list a rarer iambic 8.7.8.7; those texts do not share tunes with the trochaic set, because the stress contour has to match the music.

The form became a staple of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English hymnody precisely because tune and text could be swapped whenever syllable count and poetic foot agreed — the metrical index is the practical tool for that interchange.

## Famous poems

### Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing — Robert Robinson

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, / tune my heart to sing thy grace; / streams of mercy, never ceasing, / call for songs of loudest praise.

Often indexed as 8.7.8.7.D; the opening quatrain is a clean trochaic 8 · 7 · 8 · 7 teaching sample.

### What a Friend We Have in Jesus — Joseph Medlicott Scriven

What a friend we have in Jesus, / all our sins and griefs to bear!

Standard 8.7.8.7.D text, usually sung to CONVERSE; opening lines show the falling trochaic pulse.

### Love Divine, All Loves Excelling — Charles Wesley

Love divine, all loves excelling, / joy of heaven, to earth come down;

Widely printed as 8.7.8.7.D; another staple of the trochaic eights-and-sevens family.

### All for Jesus — Mary Dagworthy James

All for Jesus! All for Jesus! / All my being’s ransomed powers;

Cited in hymnal pedagogy as a clear 8.7.8.7 trochaic example (odd-syllable stresses).

## How 8s & 7s works

8s & 7s (hymnal 8.7.8.7) cycles eight- and seven-syllable lines. In the classic trochaic form lyriic models, long lines are four full trochees (DUM-da × 4); short lines are catalectic — they truncate after a final strong beat so the line ends on stress.

A four-line stanza therefore reads 8 · 7 · 8 · 7. Hymnals mark 8.7.8.7.D when that quatrain doubles to eight lines; the syllable-and-stress cycle is the same, only longer. Rhyme and tune choice are outside the checker.

When stress-aware checking is on, lyriic compares dictionary stress to the expected falling contour on each line length. Iambic 8.7.8.7 texts exist in some indexes but use a different beat and are not this meter’s target.

## Trochee (DUM-da)

A trochee is a two-syllable foot with a strong beat then a light one: DUM-da. Words like “garden,” “poetry,” and “falling” often open on that falling rhythm.

Repeated trochees make trochaic meter—tetrameter (eight syllables) is common in song and children’s verse; longer lines appear in hymns and narrative. English poets often drop or lighten a final weak syllable, so lines may feel truncated compared with a pure foot grid.

With the stress pack loaded, lyriic marks expected strong–weak beats from dictionary stress against that trochaic contour, so you can see where the line matches or drifts.

## Trochaic stress pattern (8 / 7)

Classic 8s & 7s hymn meter is trochaic: an eight-syllable line (strong on odd positions 1–7) alternating with a seven-syllable line that truncates after a final strong beat (1, 3, 5, 7). Odd lines end strong; the short line is catalectic.

lyriic checks that 8 / 7 trochaic contour when the stress pack is loaded, filling then truncating the foot grid to each line length.

## Notes on this form

lyriic models classic trochaic 8s & 7s: eight-syllable lines with strong beats on odd positions, alternating with seven-syllable catalectic lines that end on a stress. Hymnals also index a rarer iambic 8.7.8.7 — that contour is a different meter and is not what this checker targets.

lyriic does not enforce rhyme schemes, doubled (D) eight-line stanzas, or tune interchange rules from a hymnal’s metrical index.

## Common questions

### What is 8s & 7s hymn meter?

In hymnal notation, 8.7.8.7 (8s & 7s) is a four-line stanza with eight, seven, eight, and seven syllables. The classic English form is trochaic — a falling DUM-da beat — with the short lines ending on a strong syllable. A trailing D means the pattern doubles to eight lines.

### Does lyriic check stress as well as syllables?

Yes. For 8s & 7s, lyriic targets the 8 / 7 syllable cycle and the trochaic stress contour when the stress pack is loaded. Open the zen editor with this meter for live rulers beside each line.

### Is my draft uploaded?

No. Syllable and stress checks run locally in your browser. lyriic is local-first and does not require an account.

## Open the editor

Write in the zen editor: https://lyriic.com/

Open with 8s & 7s meter: https://lyriic.com/write/eights-and-sevens