I’ve recently been adding to the old methods of repetition, linking sounds and using some additional images with a technique that apparently some actors use.
You read the poem through a few times to get the feel of it.
You write the poem out by hand (not on your computer) - I don’t always do this step, but it is helpful.
You write out the initial letters of each word in the poem in the same format as in the poem; in other words, line by line. And you include capitalizations and punctuation.
Then you use this ‘code’ as you might call it, as a way of reminding yourself of the poem as you learn it further.
This still requires repetition to get fluent once you leave the code behind. And I often go back to the code as a way of refreshing my memory. There’s something about the layout of the code on the page that makes the brain keep the thing more clearly in my head,
Though the actors I’ve heard talking about this method claim it’s great for learning stuff quickly, it doesn’t seem to be any better for holding the material in your head long-term. As always, that requires WORK. Sorry about that! But for me it seems to improve the accuracy of what I learn.
As long as you depend on the first letters, you can’t repeat it by heart.
Can confirm. I’ve tried both methods. While the repeat 3 4 5 6 etc lines is slower, it commits to long term memory better.
With the first letters, you start reciting it very quick, but it doesn’t stick to long term. I don’t know why, but with the second, as you remove effort to commit it to memory, it doesn’t stick. At least for me.
But actors don’t need to repeat the script in the long run, isn’t it?
I don’t depend on the first letters; they’re merely an extra key to retaining the material. There’s nothing -no text, that is - I’ve learned that doesn’t require work. The initial letters approach is just part of the learning process, certainly not all. Another effective approach for me is to set the text to music; this takes time in itself, but in the long run the musical rhythm underneath the words tends to hold them in your memory better, I find.
Actors may be able to use it for a short-term memory approach, say up to 24 hours, but it certainly wouldn’t work on its own for learning a script. There are several approaches to learning scripts but they all require you to actually memorise things…slowly.
I don’t use a memory palace. I’m not sure how it would help me.
I don’t start trying to memorize a poem until I feel I can perform it. I will read it out loud many times until I’m saying something that I understand and mean. By that time I can recite the whole of the poem with a little prompting. But if I leave it there, that will fade into an abstract summary of the sound and content.
Then I do what it seems others are doing, I pick a ‘landmark’ from each section and make a journey or a linked list. The landmarks are an image or a phrase that triggers the section and their order keeps the whole memory coherent.
The journey starts from the poem itself. I don’t understand why people use a memory palace for this? Are you trying to create a library too? Do you need to be able to recall the names of all the poems you’ve memorized?
I have tried the first letter of every word technique in the past and it does help. Perhaps you could also turn the first letter in every word into an image but that might be overkill. When you are determined to memorize something you will try any trick that might help. I am going to play around with it tonight. I have something I am working on remembering and I think it will help get the work in.