Gadfly adores poetry, especially when memorized. This is, no doubt, a hangover from his days in fly school, when he was forced to memorize "Paul Revere's Ride," "The Walrus and the Carpenter," and other favorites. Today, such memorization is widely considered a form of oppression if not child abuse. But we agree with Michael Knox Beran that memorizing poetry, speeches, and other literature exercises the young mind and inculcates a natural sense of the power and rhythms of the English language. "As educators have known for centuries, these exercises deliver unique cognitive benefits, benefits that are of special importance for kids who come from homes where books are scarce and the level of literacy low," Beran writes in the summer issue of City Journal. "In addition, such exercises etch the ideals of their civilization on children's minds and hearts." Memorization deepens the well of language that writers, professional and otherwise, can draw upon to find exactly the right word or phrase or tone. It's not too far-fetched to suggest that the general abandonment of memorization worsens the creeping inarticulateness of American culture.
"In defense of memorization," by Michael Knox Beran, City Journal, Summer 2004