Comments on Shakespeare Geek: Tips for Memorizing Shakespeare

These are all helpful, I had to memorize Thisbe an...

2011-12-18T18:45:04.598-05:00

These are all helpful, I had to memorize Thisbe and Puck's part for act 5 in Midnight Summers Dream

Thanks so much for the tips! I'm trying to mem...

2011-10-13T21:00:36.627-04:00

Thanks so much for the tips!
I'm trying to memorize Brutus' part in Act 2 Scene 1 of Julius Caesar, and i finally got it!

Ok, so i need to memorize the to be or not to be m...

2011-09-07T17:01:41.322-04:00

Ok, so i need to memorize the to be or not to be monolog from hamlet. I'm getting there but its taking forever do u have any tips?

High school students, I empathize with you. Next ...

2011-08-23T22:52:42.096-04:00

High school students, I empathize with you. Next semester in English, we're reading R&J (I don't have a problem with THAT, I love the play) and every student is required to memorize a monologue. Worst of all, the monologues are graded on LENGTH, not on how well you understand the text.

I learned a trick to memorizing Shakespeare from the best Shakespearean actor/director I've ever had the good fortune to know. Start from the bottom of the monologue and work your way up. For example, if I were memorizing Helena's "How happy some o'er other some can be" monologue, I would start by learning the last line: "To have his sight thither, and back again." Once I have that, I'll memorize the last two lines: "But herein mean I to enrich my pain, to have his sight thither, and back again." And so on.

This technique has never failed me, but it works best with verse. Another thing that helps, though it might not be considered a trick, is to find the emotional turning points in the speech. The amazingly talented director (see above) also taught me how to find what he called the "beats" in the monologue (not the iambic kind). So while memorizing the Helena monologue, I could also break it down into chunks by thinking, "Okay, so I'm contemplating the nature of love...now I'm talking about how Hermia stole my boyfriend...now I'm formulating a plan that might hurt her, but will get him back...."

These two methods have always been my best friends while memorizing Shakespeare, but tricks are no substitute for practicing hard. Don't wait until six hours before a show to memorize your lines; the best time to memorize them is NOW.

Thanks for the tips. I'm in eighth grade and s...

2011-05-31T18:54:25.322-04:00

Thanks for the tips. I'm in eighth grade and selected Othello's monologue in Act I Scene III. I have the first and last parts pretty well down, but the middle...ah, well. That's going to need some work. I have to have it memorized by Thursday, and I started early. :P

For my english class I have to memorize 15-20 line...

2011-05-13T20:22:20.060-04:00

For my english class I have to memorize 15-20 lines of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". We are allowed to chose any section of it, and I play the role of Hermia, usually. Are there any suggestions of wich lines I should try to memorize? Thanks!

Just read it and write it over and over again whil...

2011-05-09T21:33:06.575-04:00

Just read it and write it over and over again while saying it. Did that and had it down in 40 mins. no joke. That is, 32 lines of Romeo in the balcony scene. Try it that way.

It does help. Gotta memorize Romeo and juliets bal...

2011-04-18T13:38:11.118-04:00

It does help. Gotta memorize Romeo and juliets balcony scene by Wednesday and so far I'm on the second page which is like line115

THANK YOU!! this site really helped did you know s...

2011-02-18T21:12:52.471-05:00

THANK YOU!! this site really helped
did you know some of your tips actually contradict some other sites tips for memorizing Shakespeare
one of them for me was listening and watching a movie with the lines I'm supposed to remember (try youtube)
but other sites said to not do that since I'll be confused with how the actors said it and their "European accents"
but I didn't listen to them and memorized 8 line within 30mins of watching it
(I have to memorize 14 lines
of hamlet's soliloquy "to be or not to be")

Out Loud--over and over...and over--until you'...

2010-10-11T13:27:31.036-04:00

Out Loud--over and over...and over--until you're sick of hearing yourself. Visualize what Oberon is saying (as noted above) --he paints vivid pictures. If you record the lines and cues do it without emotion; just plainly speak them, don't try to act them on tape or you'll wind up getting into a rut that's hard to get out of. Listen to your tape when you can't speak out loud and make it the last thing you hear as you drift off to sleep at night. When you get to the blocking, association with the space will make it easier to solidify what you know. Break a leg.
It's a great role--chew on it.

I have to memorize all of Oberon's line for my...

2010-10-10T14:47:35.551-04:00

I have to memorize all of Oberon's line for my school's shakespeare play, a midsummer nights dream... I have a week and like a TON of paragraphs before we have to start blocking. Any advice?

thanks for the tips! i have to memorize all of puc...

2010-06-12T03:39:53.098-04:00

thanks for the tips! i have to memorize all of pucks lines in a midsummers night dream for my high school production of it. i am really nervous about it!

For spam protection, these old posts have comments...

2010-04-28T19:37:44.110-04:00

For spam protection, these old posts have comments automatically moderated. So your comment was invisible until I could hit the approve button. One of these days I'll switch over to something a little more powerful, like Wordpress, that will allow known power users to comment with abandon. Until you bug me. :)

Post on Marc Antony's speech disappeared-gone ...

2010-04-28T19:22:56.569-04:00

Post on Marc Antony's speech disappeared-gone like a flash...

Careful that you don't try to make every line ...

2010-04-28T16:29:32.295-04:00

Careful that you don't try to make every line fit the dah DUM dah DUM pattern. Speak it out loud and know what he's saying before you try to fit the pattern of the beats. More times than we think it's like normal speech. More important that you follow the way it would normally be said, and fit the iambic beat (weak-strong) where it naturally falls, otherwise you can get sing-songy.

And there are lots of words like ambitious and honorable which don't fit the pattern of the ten beat line unless you make them more syllables than we would--am-bi-ti-ous, for instance--you don't absolutely have to pronounce them that way, just know that that's why the line doesn't seem to dah DUM when it should.

Saying it out loud and hearing yourself speak it will help to impress your sense memory with the words. The beat pattern is only a guide if you get stuck and can't figure out how the rhythm of a certain line goes.. Knock 'em dead.

I am having to memorize Marc Antony's funeral ...

2010-04-28T14:37:40.949-04:00

I am having to memorize Marc Antony's funeral speech in Julius Caesar. The beating, DAH dah DaH, works well.

i have 46 lines due in 3 hours .....help :(

2010-04-25T03:15:35.217-04:00

i have 46 lines due in 3 hours .....help :(

Anonymous said...Hamlets to be or not to be ------...

2010-04-05T13:18:04.971-04:00

Anonymous said...Hamlets to be or not to be
-------------------------
--Is a soliloquy. A solo speech.

Are you male or female? What gender is your partner?
Look at Midsummer--it has both verse and prose dialogue between a combination of character mixes-M/M, F/F, M/F, Males playing females, Oberon and Titania, Oberon/Puck. Some of it way out funny stuff.

Hamlets to be or not to be

2010-04-04T21:43:15.704-04:00

Hamlets to be or not to be

aAfriend and i have to memorize 30 lines each, but...

2010-03-10T22:06:59.193-05:00

aAfriend and i have to memorize 30 lines each, but it has to be a conversation or something of the sort. What play should we do and what scene/ act should we do?

Thank you so much for all of your help. I had to m...

2010-03-01T21:27:10.266-05:00

Thank you so much for all of your help. I had to memorize lines 232-257 in A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is where Helena says: How happy some o'er other some can be! Through Athens I am thought as fair as she... My teacher assigned me these lines and I didn't get to choose it. Once again thanks. I am starting to like Shakespeare.=)

THANKYOU SOOOOOO MUCH! I am 15 and have 3 days to ...

2009-11-02T07:00:18.770-05:00

THANKYOU SOOOOOO MUCH!
I am 15 and have 3 days to learn Juliet's Galop Apace, the balcony scene and a contemorary monologue for an audition for a scholarship!
You have no idea how much these tips help, just making the whole situation seem less daunting and impossible.

It was only after going back to understand the words that i remembered i love Shakespeare, and this is an opportunity rather than a punishment. And simply realising that i LOVE the words means i can remember them!

YOU ARE HEROES IN YOUR OWN RIGHT!
Thanks again. Olivia.

oh my god im in a play and am desparately trying t...

2009-05-27T05:52:45.631-04:00

oh my god im in a play and am desparately trying to learn some lines in a midsummer nights dream within six hours

Thank you soooo much, you knew exactly what was ha...

2009-05-25T18:19:59.097-04:00

Thank you soooo much, you knew exactly what was happening, none of the other searches helped at all

Steps One, Two, & Three: SAY IT OUT LOUD!-over...

2009-05-18T12:45:00.000-04:00

Steps One, Two, & Three: SAY IT OUT LOUD!-over, and over, and over again. As mentioned, Shakespeare never meant for his plays to be READ silently in a library. This is PHYSICAL stuff. The rhythms will take over-you need to HEAR them yourself. Surprisingly (or not, to someone who's memorized lines for a living) Shakespeare is easier to remember than any other dramatic material because of the Music he injected into the lines. Vocalization is a physical, working muscle-it needs to be exercised like any other. Don't let the academicians impose an unneeded and unwarranted fear, simply because it happens to be "shakespeare". Don't "try to memorize" it. There's no "mystery"--just DO IT--out loud. Tomorrow you'll wake up knowing it.