I know, the last time you had to memorize and recite a poem was in high school, and it probably was a traumatic experience. But you should reconsider. Studies have shown that memorization improves memory skills. So here are a handful of poems that you might want to have a go at. I guarantee you will be the hit of your next party or family gathering, as well as extending the life of your brain. All of these are linked to a book in the library’s collection that contains the poem in question.
- Whoso List to Hunt — Thomas Wyatt
- Loveliest of Trees — A. E. Houseman (from A Shropshire Lad)
- The Destruction of Sennacherib — George Gordon, Lord Byron
- The Skylight — Seamus Heaney
- Sonnet 73 — William Shakespeare
- The Darkling Thrush — Thomas Hardy
If you are feeling ambitious and want to try a longer piece, here are some possibilities.
- Paul Revere’s Ride — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Barbara Frietchie — John Greenleaf Whittier
- Lament for Makers — William Dunbar
For more choices, take a look at Committed to Memory: 100 Best Poems to Memorize.
And yes, I have memorized most of these at one time or the other, and can still recite parts of all of them.
Other favorite poems to memorize? List them in the comments.
I would think you will receive many additional suggestions. My favorite is from AE Housman, from Shropshire Lad…
“Into my heart an air that kills….”
“Laugh and the world laughs with you,
weep and you weep alone…” Ella Wheeler Wilcox?
and of course Shakespeare, Sonnet 121
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment…
If I’ve cited incorrectly I apologize.
I’ve had my 11-year old son memorize Ozymandias, and he’s working on Jabberwocky. (OK, so I’ve had to bribe him, but 4 months after earning his prize he can still correctly recite Ozymandias.) That’s something I miss from the elementary curriculum – memorizing poems and speeches. As a side note, we frequently have older patrons asking us to help them recover the poems they memorized as children.
Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life”
Frost’s “The Road not Taken”
I like “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou; “Ego Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni; “Mother to Son,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” or anything else by Langston Hughes; “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton; or “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost.
I impressed the children recently by reciting Jabberwocky, learned in 7th grade. Does being able to recite Goodnight Moon and the entire first Madeline book count?
All good suggestions. Thanks!
[…] favorite poets. If you have a chance this April, find a poem and read it out loud. Or, better yet, memorize a poem just for fun. Be sure to check out the poetry display at the Williamsburg Library or see our poetry […]
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