Meter is an important part of poetry because it helps readers understand rhythm as it relates to words and lines in a poem. It also helps writers create poetry with clearly defined structural elements and strong melodic undertones. ... When you write or read poetry, think of meter as the beat or the cadence of the piece.
Count the number of feet in each line. To name the meter, identify the type of foot and the number of times it repeats in a poem's line. Sonnets, for example, use iambic pentameter as the iambic foot appears five times in each line.
