How to Memorize Poetry, Plays, and Literature

How to memorize poetry word for word: a practical approach

For verbatim poetry, lines from a play or a literary quotation, a memory journey can help you remember the sequence of images, but it does not preserve every exact word on its own. Learn the passage’s meaning and rhythm, divide it into short sections, and practice reciting from memory while checking the original text.

1. Read the passage carefully and check which edition or wording you must reproduce.
2. Break it into two-to-four-line sections; identify each section’s key image or idea.
3. Place those cues at successive stops along a memory journey.
4. Close the book and recite the first section aloud; compare every word to the original.
5. Add the next section and rehearse the transition before moving on.
6. Revisit the entire passage later using spaced retrieval rather than rereading alone.

For actors: include the preceding character’s cue line so you know when to speak, and rehearse the scene with the intended movement and pace. For an exam, verify punctuation and wording against the assigned edition. The Folger Shakespeare Library’s text of Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2 provides a reliable example.

Introduction

Have you ever been told to memorize poetry, plays, and literature quotes from a book you studied in class? I remember being told to do it, but I couldn’t recall the reading selections. It was torturous. 

The strange thing about being told to memorize poetry, plays, and literature in class was that the teacher didn’t instruct us on how to do it. Perhaps the teacher told you to read it repeatedly until it sank in. Eventually, that might work. But it’s not the most effective strategy to memorize works verbatim. 

How to Memorize Written Work Verbatim

The most effective way to memorize poetry, plays, and literature combines two elements: setting up a memory journey and quickly re-reading the selection after we set up the journey. (Click here for more information about memory journeys.)

To practice this method, I have selected a piece many students encounter from Romeo and Juliet. This is from act two, scene two, when Juliet ponders Romeo’s family name:

Here is the passage in the Folger Shakespeare Library edition, Act 2, Scene 2:

What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name
Belonging to a man.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.

Note: lineation, punctuation and some wording vary by edition. For schoolwork or performance, rehearse the wording from the edition you must use.

Step 1: Identify the cues in each line

We need to catalog keywords for each line and put them in order. So, let’s start by finding the words that will shape our journey: 

1. Montague
2. hand
3. foot
4. arms
5. face
6. Belonging to man
7. name
8. rose
9. smell as sweet

I think memorizing the selection will be easy if we use these nine keywords and phrases.

Step 2: Plan a journey for the passage

Start by mapping out your journey to a familiar route that you take. You can sketch out your path on paper if you need to. If not, you can create it in your head. All you need to do is ensure that you have a route planned with nine spots to hold new information.

Step 3: Place the images along your route

In the first spot, I put the actor Brian Dennehy, who played Lord Montague, in the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet. He represents Montague to me.

For the next stops, imagine a hand holding a rope, a booted foot stepping over it, an arm waving and a giant theatrical face mask. At the next location, a large sign marked “belonging to a man” points toward the rest of the quotation. Each distinct cue reminds you of the order of the images; to reproduce Shakespeare’s exact words, practice reciting the full lines from the text and correct any omissions.

In the seventh spot, imagine the word “Name?” on a giant neon billboard. Under it, you might want a second neon sign also saying “Name.” Since the word name appears twice in the text, it might be helpful. 

Moving to the next place, see a flower. As you approach, it sprays out a sweet smell.

Step 4: Recite and check exact wording

Read the text at a pace that allows you to notice every word and its rhythm. Imagine the memory journey as you recite, then check the exact wording against the original.

Repeat it a couple of times. Afterward, try to recite the selection without looking.

Give yourself time between practice rounds and repeat the process until you have it down. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can memorize poetry, plays, and literature.

Also, if you find that you forget pieces, then add more keywords to put into your memory journey. As long as you keep the order straight, adding more to your journey will always help. As with any of these systems, if you find these images aren’t right for you, change them.

Next: How to Remember Names and Faces

Further practice with text and speeches

Build an ordered memory journey, try memorizing a speech outline, and maintain verbatim passages with spaced retrieval.