Memorization and recitation of verse should have a central place in a child’s education.
Memorization and recitation of verse should have a central place in a child’s education.
M y mom was (and still is) a stickler for proper reading posture and tone. Often, during reading lessons, she’d make my siblings and me stand in the schoolroom closet, close the door, and read so she could understand us. This didn’t mean yelling, of course. Good support and enunciation will take you far in declamation, and since we were also getting these habits drilled into us at children’s choir, they’ve become ingrained in my regular speaking practices. We had many opportunities to hone these skills, as we were often called upon to recite poetry or give presentations both at home and at local homeschool events.
This year, I have the privilege of teaching six little girls, all sisters and cousins, and all between the ages of seven and ten. Most of our curriculum is pre-set, but their mothers gave me free rein with the poetry lessons, and I’ve had the most delightful time browsing my copy of Laura M. Berquist’s The Harp and the Laurel Wreath for just the right selection. Berquist’s book is a treasure, and it contains “poetry and dictation for the classical curriculum.” Ranging from simple Robert Louis Stevenson poems to lengthy Shakespeare excerpts, the book divides its material into sections and shows teachers how best to use it.
But why have them memorize poetry in the first place? It seems rather antiquated and useless, right? Berquist has a different view:
The appreciation of fine arts is formative for the soul. The old adage “you are what you eat” could be changed to truthfully say “You are what you see and hear.” The models in one’s imagination and memory become a part of the soul and affect all the rest of life.
If the soul holds good, true, beautiful, noble, and heroic images, it will be inclined to love those things. . . . Poetry is one of the forms of the beautiful that is relatively accessible to children. Children respond to patterns of sound and enjoy the rhythm of poetry, if they are introduced to it before someone tells them they shouldn’t like it.
One of the older girls in my class, whom I had as a student last year, memorized the entirety of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Village Blacksmith.” This year, my girls are learning the poetry so quickly, I’m having to add new selections faster than I anticipated. My favorite so far? “There Once Was a Puffin,” by Florence Page Jaques. They’ve also learned, just in time for autumn, Robert Frost’s “The Last Word of a Bluebird” and are currently working on Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Portrait by a Neighbor.”
Whiteboards are a boon to teachers, and I’m using mine as my mom did: to draw pictures. Unlike Siblings No. 2 and 6, I’m a dreadful artist. But really, you only need stick figures and some other basic shapes to get your point across, and this tip from my mom has become my favorite method of teaching poetry. The process is very simple: Working with one stanza at a time, go through each line and come up with one to three simple images that prompt your memory about it. Draw them next to their respective lines and use them as you work through the poem with the children. I find this exercise to be great fun, and my awkward puffin drawings earlier this semester received many compliments from my students.
Memorization is important, but proper delivery is an often forgotten aspect of recitation. While I don’t ask my girls to stand and deliver from behind closed doors, we still learn where to place our feet, how to hold our hands, and where to look when reciting. And even though we aren’t Anne Shirley reciting “The Highwayman,” it’s the perfect time to learn a little about inflection, tone, and dramatic pauses.
It’s been a while since I’ve committed anything to memory, so my students’ work has inspired my own reentry into poetry memorization. In college, my children’s lit professor required some memory work, mainly “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll. My students, alas, already know this one, so I decided to impress them with John Gillespie Magee Jr.’s “High Flight” instead.
Yes, I have it memorized, but now I just need the courage to recite it for them.