One Value of Memorization

When I was teaching accelerated senior English in high school, my students had to memorize several passages from Shakespeare, both the plays and lyric poetry. Of course, several, especially the boys, questioned why, since it had never been demanded of them before. I told them, if I answered that question they wouldn’t believe me, that they would find the answer for themselves someday.

One year the Baccalaureate speaker quoted some of the exact passages they had memorized. After the program, several graduates (girls, of course) came to me with a great deal of excitement, for they knew what the speaker was talking about and what he meant.

Then many years later one girl from my humanities class reached me finally with a note. Among other welcomed statements, she said Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 was read aloud at her wedding. How lovely! After a bit of correspondence, she even came to see me in my home. She was, of course, visiting others here, family, I suppose. How worthwhile it is to teach Shakespeare!

♥