Learning poems by heart

Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay.
- Janet Fitch

In this advanced Digital Age where knowledge is available on the click of a button, only old blokes appear to appreciate poetry. If you ask a modern day student whether he reads poetry, he will want to know why he should do so. In fact, a college student asked his lecturer, “What is poetry?” the lecturer repeated Robert Frost’s classic definition: “Poetry is the kind of thing poets write.”

Most probably, Frost was not trying to evade the question, but he wanted to drive some sense into the questioner’s mind. If Frost had said, “Poetry is a rhythmical composition of words expressing an attitude, designed to surprise and delight and to arouse an emotional response,” the questioner would have slumped over his desk.

Even the dictionary definition of a poem is somewhat vague. Any standard dictionary would define a poem as a piece of writing in which the words are arranged in separate lines, often ending in rhymes and are chosen for their sound and for the images and ideas they suggest. The nature of poetry is something like jazz. At a concert, a listener asked Louis Armstrong, “What is jazz?” Armstrong said, “Man, if you gotta ask, you’ll never know.”

Definition

If we cannot define poetry, is it worth reading or studying it? Instead of trying to define poetry, we should read it and respond to it. This can be done only if you are willing to read poetry. There may be millions of people who go about in life without reading poetry. Similarly, there is a microscopic segment in society who cannot do without poetry. Not only have they studied poetry in school, but also they have a passion for reading and understanding poems. A beginner should cultivate the habit of reading poems and enjoying them.

John Walsh: Learning poems by heart is like having your own private iPoems library.

Most students question, “Who needs poetry?” They may be right because they have never read poetry meaningfully. Those who have been guided to read poetry at a young age by their parents and teachers will not ask such mundane questions. They will want to pursue their poetry reading even if they happen to be doctors and engineers. A child introduced to poetry will retain much of what he reads even in his adult life.

Poetry lovers know that reading poetry is a wonderful way to spend time. Instead of reading poetry to pass examinations, we should read poems with an abiding interest. In the past, when English was reigning supreme, students were asked to memorise certain poems. They did so with their heart and soul and eventually developed a storehouse of the most beautiful and useful words in English. Learning poetry by heart may appear to be outdated, but there is no other way to grasp the words and phrases in a poem.

Internet

One might argue that we have ready access to any poem through the Internet. However, the purpose of learning poetry by heart is to make what you memorise a part of your consciousness. This can never be replicated by browsing the Internet.

Those who belong to the older generation will recall how they learnt reams of poetry found in On Freedom’s Way or The Plate of Gold. The good news is that today there seems to be an enthusiasm to resurrect this practice at least in the developed countries. Experts have found that learning poetry by heart confers many educational advantages in addition to an enhanced vocabulary. What is more, learning by heart improves memory power.

Celebrated literary critic John Walsh likened learning poems by heart to “having your own private iPoems library.” He also said, “It’s about owning someone else’s words, but making them part of your life, your thoughts and your heart.” By remembering poems, you can use them as personal armoury against the slings and arrows of life. When you are down and out, you can recall a poem from your memory. It will bring much needed solace.

Robots

If the average student does not read poetry, there is something radically wrong with our educational system. Science and technology have produced a generation of robots which have no feelings towards others. Only by exposing them to poetry can we turn them into real humans who will appreciate love, compassion, gratitude and non-violence.

Those who really care to learn a poem by heart should at first try to remember a short poem such as the following:

Valentine
My heart has made its mind up
And I’m afraid it’s you.
Whatever you’ve got lined up,
My heart has made its mind up
And if you can’t be signed up
This year, next year will do.
My heart has made its mind up
And I’m afraid it’s you.

-Wendy Cope