Why Memorize Poetry?

Why memorize poetry when we have ChatGPT and advanced search engines? We live in a world that prefers externalized possession over an internal one. It seems that we have become satisfied with keeping texts in databases, but not in our hearts. As Saima Noreen stated, “Technology has changed the way we organize information so that we only remember details which are no longer available, and prioritize the location of information over the content itself.”

So, why memorize when I can just click a button and instantly access a poem? One of the reasons I memorize poetry is that it requires me to slow down and to become more attentive to what I’m reading. It enriches my soul and the experience I have with a text. I would like to share some things I have noticed in my process of keeping the poetry of Dante in my heart.

Italian (Inferno 1.1-6)

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.                                          

Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!    

English Translation

Midway in the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood,
for the straight way was lost.

     Ah, how hard it is to tell
the nature of that wood, savage, dense and harsh --
the very thought of it renews my fear!

Sounds of the Text

As I was repeating the line “esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte” / “the nature of that wood, savage, dense and harsh”), I noticed the repetition of the letter S — eSta, Selva, Selvaggia, aSpra. It gave me the impression of a hissing serpent. Perhaps this use of sound alludes to the biblical account of the Garden of Eden, and the conditions of the Fall. Then I noticed the frequent use of the “A” and “E” sound. The way Dante places them in this line gives it an “airy” quality, as if it was wind or one journeying through a dark and foggy forest. I begin to feel the weight of darkness sweep upon me as I read.

Movement of the Text

As memorizing these lines one thing I noticed was its pace. It is a fast poem. The Divine Comedy is usually translated into blank verse as a result one may miss the swiftness of the original terza rima (ABA, BCB, etc).

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita (A)
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, (B)
ché la diritta via era smarrita. (A)                                        

Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura (B)
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte (C)
che nel pensier rinova la paura! (B)

As reciting the lines, I asked, “Why did he choose this meter?” Then I began to notice how the text has this forward movement almost as escaping (‘an exodus’). It was as if the text itself in its poetic form was on pilgrimage, from darkness to light. I thought perhaps Dante wants to communicate that we too must be on the move, from the selva oscura to the divine light of Paradiso. Notice how he says, “Midway the journey of our life.” It is “our life” and not “my.” It is not di “mia vita” but “nostra vita.”

On Asking Questions

I believing slowing down permits us to ponder and ask questions. I remember memorizing several lines of “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Shelley. One thing I noticed is that he used the terza rima as Dante did in the Divine Comedy. Take a look at his rhyme scheme below.

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, (A)

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead (B)

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, (A)

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, (B)

Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, (C)

Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed (B)

Then I began to consider why? After doing some research, I discovered that the poem was written in Italy, the home of Dante. In a footnote to “Ode to the West Wind”, Shelley wrote:

“This poem was conceived and chiefly written in a wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapors which pour down the autumnal rains. They began, as I foresaw, at sunset with a violent tempest of hail and rain, attended by that magnificent thunder and lighting peculiar to the Cisalpine regions.”

I believe memorization offers us the gift of slowness. Social media often reminds me of how much I haven’t read. I see posts on how many books people have read throughout the year. Then I see the pile of books on my desk, and the many unread works on my bookshelf. But, memorization is that gift that says, “Take up, and eat.” I am learning that there can be a reading that doesn’t profit, a reading that fills the head, but shrinks the heart. There is that subtle danger of becoming an intellectual tadpole.

I recently listened to a podcast episode of Jason M. Baxter, medievalist and author of “A Beginner’s Guide to the Divine Comedy.” I recall him saying that Thomas Aquinas only had around 200 books. I was shocked. Considering his writing, I expected that he would have had more in his library. He explained how writers meditated on what they read, and often committed them to memory.

I think there is something that we can learn from the past, that is, the importance of “being with texts.” It is okay, to take two years reading a work of literature. Read poetry, read it with friends around a campfire. Discuss what you read over a meal. Memorize a couple of lines and recite it with joy. May we fill our hearts with true, good, and beautiful things.