September's memorization technique: Backwards memorization.
Start by memorizing the last line of your poem. Practice reciting
that. Now memorize the second-to-last line, and recite the two
together. Keep going until you reach the beginning. That way,
you will know the end even better than the beginning, and you
won't get stuck part way through.
September's recital technique: Practice in front of classmates,
parents, and teachers so that when you come up in front of your
classmates it won't be the first time you face an audience.
General plan:
- Read it out loud. Get to know it.
- Write it out, by hand, or type it. Take your time.
- Find good places to take a breath.
- Break it into small parts of a few lines.
- Starting with the first part or the last part, doing a little
bit every evening:
a. Read it
b. Make images (draw them!) and connections to help you remember.
c. Close your eyes and see how much you can remember.
d. Repeat those steps until you have that section memorized.
e. Go onto the next part.
f. As you go, repeat all the parts you have memorized one
after another.
- Recite the poem out loud to yourself, and then to friends,
classmates, and family.
- Practice speaking clearly and standing upright.
- Read the poem just before you get a good night's sleep.
- Read it briefly before class.
- Recite:
a. Stand up straight but relaxed, without rocking.
b. Speak with your mouth and throat open
c. Speak with expression
d. Keep your hands out of your pockets
e. It may help to look at something just over the heads of
your audience.
Some links:
Sheila Hageman, 2002, How
to memorize a poem, accessed July 20, 2003, http://nyny.essortment.com/howtomemorize_rjzb.htm
Bob Holman and Margery Snyder, 2003, How
to memorize a poem, accessed July 20, 2003, http://poetry.about.com/cs/textarchives/ht/howmemorizepoem.htm
Dr.
Turner writes about her own experience with memorizing poetry.
A quotation:
"to memorize is to possess something, whether it be
a sonnet or a succession of kings, by making it an almost
physical part of you, a kind of invisible companion."
--Billy Collins, "On Slowing Down,"
commencement address at Choate Rosemary Hall, 2003.
