Mrs. Readsalot Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 I often used to have my son memorize poetry. He especially enjoyed Bible, silly or historical poems. Sadly, we have gotten away from doing memorization of poetry. I am planning to restart this today. What are your favorite poems for memorization? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 My son's favorites this year have been A Tragic Story, by William Makepeace Thackary and The Bells, by Edgar Allen Poe. Both were in FLL 3. My son is eight though, so these may be too young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 For the younger ages, poems by Robert Louis Stevenson are good. If you want something humorous, take a look at A.A. Milne's poems (the author of Winnie the Pooh). If you have a child that's into baseball, Casey at the Bat is a good poem to memorize (although it is lengthy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Being from new england I love Robert Frost poems. That sure helped me in my Comp 2 class I just had, there were several references to his work and saved me a few times becomes I was very familiar with his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesegirl Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I love Longfellow and Stevenson and Robert Frost. Reesegirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I like 2 of Lewis Carroll's poems: Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter. I'm also partial to The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe, and If, by Rudyard Kipling, and The Road not Taken, by Robert Frost, and The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt. RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I can still recite Christmas in India (Kipling), Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, Strictly Germproof (funny), several famous Frost, The Convergence of the Twain, some AE Houseman, Paul Revere's Ride and In Praise of Limestone. When we were very little, we all learned Little Boy Blue ("what has become of our little boy blue since he kissed them and put them there") and told it most howlingly mournful. My brother used to weep through it. We learned it off of a 45 with a lone violin carrying on in the background. Those are the ones that stuck with me. I also learned ( from an 1890's book on care of the horse) a poem to remember how the teeth come in on a horse, so as to tell its age. Oh, my long-suffering parents! THE AGE OF A HORSE To tell the age of any horse Inspect the lower jaw of course; The six front teeth the tale will tell, And every doubt and fear dispel. Two middle nippers you behold Before the colt is two weeks old; Before eight weeks two more will come Eight months: the corners cut the gum. At two the middle "Nippers" drop: At three the second pair can't stop; When four years old the third pair goes, At five a full new set he shows. The deep black spots will pass from view At six years from the middle two; The second pair at seven years; At eight the spot each corner clears. From the middle "Nippers" upper jaw At nine the black spots will withdraw. The second pair at ten are bright; Eleven finds the corners light. As time goes on the horsemen know The oval teeth three-sided grow; Then longer get - project before - Till twenty, when they know no more." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypants Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 My son loved The Walrus and the Carpenter. I think we'll do the jabberwocky next... I also want him to learn Charge of the Light Brigade and O Captain My Captain... I've always loved that one... and The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. There are just so many. There is an old book called Poems Every Child Should Know that of course is a fountain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in IL Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 In Flanders Field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieMonster Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 My favoritist poem ever is: TREES I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer (and therefore, of course, I love to have children memorize it too) I'm sure your son is probably too old for it now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalynnrmc Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 One I've never forgotten. It's silly, but... the kids love it! I've never seen a purple cow, I never hope to see one. But I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one. ;) *tiptoes out of thread* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCA Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 In first grade DD memorized "The Goops" and we still love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Similar favorites here: The Charge of the Light Brigade The Raven The Spider and The Fly Jabberwocky Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening Also, soliloquies from Shakespeare plays. Here is a helpful list for you: Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I memorized a poem as a kid, but I didn't quite memorize the title (lol). It was something like, "O Captain, My Captain". Can you tell I'm fishing for my 50 posts so I can put something up for sale? :001_smile: Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I memorized a poem as a kid, but I didn't quite memorize the title (lol). It was something like, "O Captain, My Captain". Can you tell I'm fishing for my 50 posts so I can put something up for sale? :001_smile: Brenda You remembered the title correctly :D. The poem was written by Walt Whitman after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. It certainly is a great poem to memorize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey in MA Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 FWIW, I find that my kids (ages 9 and 6) don't tend to "get" poetry that's too complex. It has to be somewhat obvious or silly. They both like it though. They both take pride in the ones they've memorized. Just not ready for too many complicated allusions and analogies. The book I mentioned in the title has a bunch of poems from famous authors, and I sometimes wonder if SWB has this book, b/c (among many others- 100 in total) it contains The Caterpillar, A Tragic Story, Mr. Nobody, The Months, The Daffodils, and few by Sara Coleridge (who I believe helped with the writings of FLL?) - all of which are used in FFL or FFL3. It's a great reference book for poetry. We've also used it for writing dictation and copy work. HTH and GL! - Stacey in MA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFJ Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 The Kilmer poem reminded me of a cd we were given of the "Dead Poets" that has this and other poems set to music. My children sing Blake's, Tiger still! Especially my very auditory learner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I often used to have my son memorize poetry. He especially enjoyed Bible, silly or historical poems. Sadly, we have gotten away from doing memorization of poetry. I am planning to restart this today. What are your favorite poems for memorization? You might want to see a thread on the high school board and check out the website mentioned in the first post. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2jnb Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Lisa, Thank you for that site...it is great!!!! Now, my 12 year old will not be thrilled with it...but I am...thank you SO SO much!!!! Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee in MI Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll (check the librivox.org recordings by Alan Davis Drake) Daddy Fell Into the Pond by Alfred Noyes Godfrey Gorden Gustavus Gore by William Brighty Rands The Duke of Plaza-Toro by W. S. Gilbert From a Railway Carriage by Robert Lewis Stephenson Rebecca, who Slammed Doors For Fun and Perished Miserable by Hilaire Belloc The Yak by Hilaire Belloc Jonathan Bing by Beatruce Curtis Brown The Swan and the Goose, by William Ellory Leonard Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost Most of these re from Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. The one we HATED - Trees, by Joyce Kilmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee in MI Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 My favoritist poem ever is: TREES I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree... Sorry, I posted my list before I read this :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in AR Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 The "Trees" poem is my father's favorite. He's just an old farmer who doesn't have much of an education but he can choose a good poem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percytruffle Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Lisa, Now, my 12 year old will not be thrilled with it... Haha, well, you can blame it on me ;) You're very welcome, enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 One I've just discovered this year, but love, is Something Told the Wild Geese by Field. It paints a vivid picture of fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollyM Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Try to borrow a copy of Committed to Memory / 100 Best Poems to Memorize edited by John Hollander. It has all the standards in one nice paperback. My kids have memorized many pieces over the years, starting with RLStevenson stuff when they were little, Jabberwocky, and most recently my 14yo did the whole "To be or not to be" for Shakespeare class. A sampling from Hollander's list: Keats: On first looking into Chapman's Homer Lazarus: The new colossus Shelley: Ozymandias Blake: And did those feet Emerson: Concord Hymn Hopkins: Pied Beauty Tennyson: The splendor falls Housman: To an athlete dying young Whitman: A noiseless spider O, my soul! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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