Thursday, January 26, 2023
A Memorization Technique
Dan Hitchens, "Learning By Heart," First Things (May 2021):
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As for memory techniques, the most effective one I know is to write out the poem shortly before going to sleep. Cover up the text and try to remember the first line. Check your memory against the poem and correct it; or if you can't remember the line at all, copy it out. Then do the same with the second line. And so on. When you wake up, repeat the exercise. Over the course of a few nights, the poem settles into your mind with surprisingly little effort.I should try this, as my memory is poor and getting worse. Mrs. Laudator, on the other hand, knows reams of poetry by heart. A couple of weeks ago, over dinner, we were reciting bits of poetry, and I said, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Our dinner guest, a lass three years old, responded, "One, two, three, four, five."
