How to Memorize

Overview: I am writing this blog for those who have trouble memorizing things. In our school's curriculum, we receive plenty of memorization assignments a year. For some people it can be pretty hard to memorize something, or keep in one's head when it is time to recite it. It will benefit these people because it will be easier for them to remember it and get a better grade in the class.

Let's say you want to memorize the 13th Article of Faith. Memorizing that has been pretty difficult for me when I was younger, but through repetition and singing it, like in scripture mastery in Seminary, I was able to get it down cold. Otherwise, it is also a good idea to break the article down into sections. The first section would be "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous...", but feel free to break that down into smaller bits if you feel like you are having trouble. The second would be “and in doing good to all men…”, the third would be “indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul.”

Memorizing lines from a play, such as a Shakespeare play is a little trickier. It wouldn’t be practical to put a tune to your lines because in the performance, your character is talking, not singing. This is where breaking the lines up into sections comes into play. Let’s say you want to memorize the following soliloquy from Richard II

1. This royal throne of kings,2. this sceptered isle,

3. This earth of majesty, 4. this seat of Mars,

5. This other Eden, 6. demi-paradise

7. This fortress built by nature for herself

8. This happy breed of men, 9. This little world,

9. This precious stone set in the silver sea,

10. Which serves it in the office of a wall

11. Or as a moat defensive to a house

12.Against the envy of less happier lands,

13. This blessed plot, this earth, 14. this realm, this England.

          As you can see, I put numbers before each section for reference. So what I would do is read through this twice, and then repeat the first section five times, and then, when you’ve got it down, repeat it at least three times without reading. Do the same for the second section, and when you’ve memorized both sections, repeat them at least twice without reading. Do this section by section and when you’ve got the whole soliloquy memorized, read it at least once and then repeat it at least twice without reading.

          Like I said, I’m writing this blog to help people memorize poems, lines, and other literary works and writings.  I myself am skilled at memorizing things, but I think some people might not be fully informed, so I’d like to invite comments. If my advice really did help, I’m open to some success stories. Thank you.