This article is perhaps the most challenging for many people.
When I devised this particular scenario it took place in my eighth grade English class at my junior high in my hometown.
Part of me has to bask in the accomplishment, part of me still wonders how I even pulled it off. I do not view it as unethical, just an expedient way of memorizing an entire act out of the play by Shakespeare,"The Merchant of Venice".
I pretty much knew what the entire play was about, who the characters were, how they functioned and why. All this we analyzed beyond analysis and got quite terrific at it. I realize now that it was not so much because of the teacher, as it was how adept we were as students to adapt to a virtually impossible task:
we had to memorize an entire act, any act from "The Merchant of Venice". Why we had to do it, then, was beyond me. Without being facetious, it follows that I had to devise a way that was fairly innocuous to be able to pull that feat off.
Here is what I felt that I had to do: I wrote out all the lines of the act that I picked, ultimately memorized them, no problem, believe it or not. However, what is key here is that I would eradicate the words and leave only the punctuation at the end of each line: triggering the entire line in my head! I even asked the teacher prior to the exam if I could have my punctuation sheet,no words, in front of me while taking the exam. She agreed. She even asked me if she could watch. Amazing! I wrote the entire act out without missing one single word while the teacher watched me do so.
All I know is that I made an "A' in that class both for my in-depth analysis of scenes and characters from the old Bard, but also because of my uncanny ability to memorize an entire act and write it out to include all punctuation. I simply read for in-depth knowledge of scenes,themes, how they worked, who the characters were and what their roles were in the entire scheme of the plays or novels that I read, Shakespeare, Chaucer,Moliere,Sartre,Camus - whoever.
Instructions
Memorize an Act from Shakespeare
1. While it is important,probably more important, to have in-depth knowledge of characters, scenes and motives of each, switch gears if it is required of you to go the route of memorization by virtue of rote repeat, until you learn it all.
2. Repeat in your head, repeat the words in writing. Even post notes for yourself in your study area until you can actually remove them, because the words are now in your head. Do the same with the punctuation, perhaps as a priority for it is with the punctuation that will trigger the line memorized.
3. Ask permission of the teacher in question if it is OK to have the punctuation notes, no words out in front of you during the exam. If the wishes she can watch you display your memorization ability.
4. Normally, the crib notes of the punctuation would be in my head anyway; however, the task for myself as an eighth grader was particularly daunting, hence the need for them. I am not certain how many lines, perhaps in excess of eighty to a hundred lines.
Tags: characters were, entire play, even asked, have punctuation, in-depth knowledge