For each target element, this script will wrap the first letter and the first sentence of the text. This is particularly useful if you need to style Drop Caps or a leading sentence. $('.myclass p').each(function(){ // Split text at each period. var text = $(this).text().split('.'); for( var i = 0; i < 1; i++ ) { // Wrap first letter in span. var first_letter = '' + text[i].substr(0,1) + ''; // Wrap sentence in span. text[i] = '' + first_letter + text[i].substring(1, text[i].length) + ''; } $(this).html(text.join('.')); });