I remember from school this monotonous repetition, remembering poems only to forget them the next day forever. Fortunately, there are effective techniques for remembering text quickly and easily. Who knows, maybe they will be useful in the future? It’s worth knowing them!
Understanding the text
Understanding the content is simple and at the same time is the first step that will make your learning easier. When reading the poem, imagine the situation of the lyrical subject. Read slowly and pick the keywords – you will need them to remember the content. Search and write down the most characteristic sentences, words or associations that stopped you while reading.
You can also have the text read aloud, especially if the poem contains roles. Playing the characters is great fun and will help you remember the next verses.
Association chain method
This is an easy and interesting method to remember a large chunk of text. When reading a poem, spot all the associations that will help you organize it in your head. To make it easier, you can use a mind map and divide a long fragment into several smaller ones. In this method, the first association entails another one, and together they form a whole.
You don’t have to memorize the whole thing! Pick up a pen and write down everything that comes to your mind while reading the poem. Then create a certain image from associations, legible and understandable only for you. Thanks to this, even if you forget the content while speaking, you will be able to recall associations related to it and return to reciting.
Rewriting the content
The best way to remember is to write down the text. Rewrite it several times, making sure that each successive passage is written from memory (at least partially). By reading the content aloud several times, you can try to play with modulating the tone of your voice.
Use this method for particularly difficult fragments. When taking notes, you can also use previous associations. Mark more difficult parts with colors, dots, badges, emoticons … All this will make your brain consider them particularly important and remember the threads associated with them, and then the key content.
Feel what you’re saying
Even the most boring poem evokes emotions! Don’t believe it? Focus on your body while you read. Observe its reactions and write down the emotions that accompany reading. Feel the atmosphere and aura of the poem, find out if it is cheerful, melancholic, or maybe full of anger? It will be easier for you to recall these emotions while repeating it, which will greatly speed up the text memorization.
While reciting the text, feel free to look at your mind map and notes until you feel you no longer need them.
Remember regular study breaks
Do you want to sit for three hours non-stop? Go ahead, but don’t count on any effects other than frustration and impatience. It is impossible to effectively learn a poem without making pauses in the repetition of the text. Rest, go for a walk with your dog, call a friend, take a bath – do something that will relax you, as well as give you of a healthy surge of dopamine, which helps in difficult and monotonous tasks.
How many repetitions will be optimal? It depends on you. You can save time with these memorization techniques. You should only need 2-3 repetitions to fully learn the content. Of course, in return you will have to spend time remembering, writing down associations and emotions, but you will be satisfied with the results!
Are you an auditory student? Use your phone’s voice recorder and record yourself by practicing your speech in front of the class. Remember that such situations are stressful, and stress may make you forget a fragment of a text you learned earlier. That is why it is worth using the chain of associations method to quickly return to reciting the poem even when something breaks your rhythm.
