The literary art of poetry has featured in a large majority of human societies, dating as far back as Mesopotamia 4000 BC- with the Epic of Gilgamesh. As with every form of art, poetry enjoyed a myriad of applications, from the retelling of epic battles all the way to rhyme and song. In some paperless societies, the use of poetry even appears to have been employed directly as a memory technique to facilitate the recording and transmission of information.
Poetry with alliteration and rhyme is considered to be easier to remember in general, and specifically when compared to prose. Scientific evidence suggests that the link between music and emotion- with the latter’s connection to long term memory- acts as the conducting mechanism between rhyme and memory. Recent research reinforces the existence of this phenomenon further, by alluding that music and language are profoundly related due to the sharing of neural circuits- thus enhancing the retention of worded information learnt through rhyme or music.
Whether attempting to memorize a poem that rhymes, or one that does not, a simple memory technique exists that allows the practitioner to memorize the verses easily, and in a manner that is quite entertaining. This procedure for memorizing a poem is as follows:
1. On each line highlight (or note) the keywords (or sets of keywords) - this would typically be 2-4 words per line, though it ultimately depends on the poem’s line length.
2. Ignore connecting or fill words such as: the, in, and, that, this, it etc... -focus on the keywords only.
3. Use absurd imagery and nonsensical action to connect the keywords together- the more absurd the image chosen the more effective is the memory created, which then assures superior recall.
4. After memorizing the keywords, slowly read the poem out loud whilst visualizing the images you have created in step 3.
5. Now attempt to recite the poem from memory using the keywords you have memorized- test yourself line by line to make sure you were able to recite the entire line; if you missed out or made a mistake on the connecting or fill words, read through that line slowly once again.
6. Repeat step 5 until the poem is captured in its entirety- after some practise with the technique it usually requires only a couple of iterations to complete this step.
Instead of choosing keywords, it is possible to memorize the entire poem word for word; however, doing so tends to take longer and is less enjoyable due to the repetitive nature of connective and expletive words.
Presenting an example will better illustrate the simplicity and fun nature of the technique. For this purpose, let us use Edgar Allan Poe’s poem titled, A Dream, whose first verse is as follows:
In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed-
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.
...
Starting from the first line, taking the keywords visions and dark night; we begin by using absurd imagery to connect the first word with the name of the poem, that is, to connect A Dream with visions. One possible choice for an image may be a person lying in bed dreaming of a menacing set of gigantic night-vision goggles- exaggerate this image as much as your imagination allows, making sure to include fear and fright. Next we need to connect visions to the dark night; simply visualize Batman (aka the Dark Knight) with gigantic night-vision goggles popping out of his eyes (before questioning the sanity of the author, please note that imagery of absurd, exaggerated and nonsensical actions are considered to be of survival significance by the brain and are thus promptly stored for later retrieval).
Moving on to the second line, connect the next set of keywords, dreamed of joy departed, to the previous set (dark night)- perhaps visualize Batman experiencing a nightmare in which a big yellow smiley face (to represent joy) passes away- feel the pain and loss Batman must be going through and clearly see the tears and melancholy in his eyes. Continue by connecting the rest of the keywords- each time attaching the current to the previous- so for the rest of the verse it would mean connecting dreamed of joy departed to waking dream; waking dream to life and light; life and light to left; and finally, left to broken-hearted.
After completing this step, follow steps 4-6 until the poem is entrenched in your mind.
With little practise, the creation of such images would become second nature and consequently the time taken to memorize any poem would decrease substantially.
The example above only illustrates the most basic features of what is commonly called the link method. The technique has been refined substantially over the last 2 millennia, with modifications that allow more information to be captured within each image, as well as specific rules that allow one to organise the information most efficiently for future recall. For a complete instruction on the topic as well as other powerful memory techniques- with abundant practical applications- the reader is referred to The Manual- A Guide To The Ultimate Study Method, by Rod Bremer.
Rod Bremer is the author of The Manual- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method. The Ultimate Study Method (USM) is an accelerated learning system which uses Speed Reading, Deep Concentration Methods, Memory Systems and Optimal Note-Taking- all combined into a 5-step procedure allowing the practitioner to learn any topic fast and effectively with long-term recall.
The Manual- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method can be found on Amazon.com and is available on Amazon kindle as well as in print through international booksellers (ISBN 978-0-9569907-0-9)
More information about memory techniques, speed reading, concentration and the Ultimate Study Method (USM) is available on The Ultimate Study Method website on the How To Memorize Quickly and Effectively page.
