Study by subject
Poems to recite
For a poem to recite you learn the lines, the stanzas, the rhythm and the rhymes that help you move on. Lumi asks them back block by block until the poem flows without hesitation.
How to turn this subject into cards
Learn stanza by stanza. Make one card per stanza, with the first line as the question and the rest as the answer, then one card for the link from one stanza to the next. Note the structure, the number of lines, the metre and the rhyme scheme, because they hint at the missing word. The trap is reciting in your head while following the text with your eyes, then stumbling out loud. With Lumi you say the line before seeing it. Learn in several short sessions rather than one long one (Cepeda et al., 2006), and sleep in between Sleep and memory, why sleeping after you study matters. Recite the whole poem at the end to feel the rhythm.
What you need to know by heart
- The lines one by one, in order.
- The number of lines in each stanza.
- The rhyme scheme and where the rhymes fall.
- The metre, for example iambic pentameter.
- The link between stanzas, the author and the title.
How Lumi helps you remember it
You teach your poem to Lumi, stanza by stanza. It forgets over time, like you do, then quizzes you right before you would forget. As the recital approaches, the Mist settles over the lines you know less well and Lumi asks those first. You arrive reciting with the rhythm, without hunting for the next line.
Example cards
Three cards the way you would write them, with the answer Lumi expects.
How many lines does a sonnet have?
14, in Shakespeare’s form three quatrains and a couplet.
Who wrote « Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? »
William Shakespeare, in Sonnet 18.
What is a stanza of two lines called?
A couplet.
Example card
Try it, Lumi turns it into fill in the blank questions in your browser.
Poems to recite · teach this card to Lumi
A sonnet has 14 lines. Iambic pentameter has ten syllables per line. A quatrain is a stanza of four lines. Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in 1609.
Lumi’s question
A sonnet has _____ lines.
Pick the missing word
Answer right to light Lumi up
Its lamp fades when a fact slips away.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I learn a poem by heart?
- Learn it stanza by stanza and say each line before rereading it. Testing yourself like this fixes more than rereading (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006).
- How long do you keep a poem?
- It depends on you. Revisiting it at intervals that grow longer keeps it longer (Cepeda et al., 2006).
- Can I learn a poem in another language?
- Yes. Note the pronunciation of whatever trips you up and say the lines aloud. Lumi asks them back in the same way.
Read next
Sources
- Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, Rohrer (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks. A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3). doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
- Roediger, Karpicke (2006). Test-enhanced learning. Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3). doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Teach this to Lumi
Give Lumi your poems to recite notes, it gives them back as questions at the right moment.