Does Shakespeare's sonnet 18 have a meter?

Answer 1

Yes, of course. Did you not notice that each line of the poem has ten syllables? That argues that there is some sort of rhythm at work. Read the lines out loud. "Rough WINDS do SHAKE the DAR-ling BUDS of MAY." Hey, look at that! Every second syllable is a little stronger than the one before it. It sort of goes "ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM" There are five ta-DUMs in every line. Between you and me, we could call this "five ta-DUM metre", but teachers and people like that prefer to use the Greek phrase "iambic pentameter" which is just Greek for "five ta-DUM metre".