Why memorize?

Art & Literature, Culture, Other — By Amy Cannon on October 2, 2009 at 3:29 pm

In an increasingly “visual” culture, memorization is practically a thing of the past. Other than commercial jingles, favorite oldies, and sports statistics, few things not necessary to our jobs and relationships are given more than a few moments mental rent.  The idea of mentally keeping around anything we don’t need, and doing so intentionally, is a foreign one to most.

It wasn’t always this way. The Romans took as a major measure of intelligence the amount a man could memorize (Cicero did remarkably well by this standard). Even as recently as the 1940s, school children were required to memorize poems like “The Highwayman” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” If schools still have such requirements, I didn’t attend any of them. Having a handy stack of quotations, poems, and Biblical passages at the ready used to be a sign of being cultured. Now, if you spend your time memorizing something not set to music, you have strange hobbies.



Of course, measures of what makes one literate or educated are changeable, and an inability to trot out Mark Twain’s or Dorothy Parker’s opinion on a given topic does not constitute moral or social downfall. Not having literature or Scripture memorized is hardly even inconvenient anymore, thanks to the internet and pdas.  But are there advantages other than social credibility and ultimate portability to the memorization of text? I’ll offer two. 



The first advantage pertains only to longer passages memorized. When you memorize an entire chapter of the Bible, or a complete poem, you have — within your mind – an entire and discrete literary unit. And this is a rare experience. It’s unthinkable for most of us to have our favorite novel present to our minds at once in entirety; but with a favorite chapter (or book!) of the Bible, or a poem, we can have the experience of being able to know and recall an entire literary thought. You don’t have to go back and skim the book for context or grasp at surrounding detail: you’ve got it.

This is a particular way of being acquainted with a piece of literature, one wherein you can “own” or contain it as a whole.  We no longer need to memorize to have quick access to things, but memorization helps us get to know the rhythm, the cadence, the fabric of a piece in a way that mere rereading or quick reference doesn’t allow. It may also be worthwhile simply because we so rarely push ourselves to exercise our minds in this way any longer. 

Secondly, it’s undeniable that what we know already structures what we are capable of learning. We are only able to mine reality as much as our tools allow. It doesn’t matter how skilled a miner you are, if all you’ve equipped yourself with are three toothpicks and some used chewing gum, you’ll have a hard time digging up anything worthwhile. One way we can accouter ourselves to know the world better is by broadening our vocabulary: not just learning new words for ourselves, but acquainting ourselves with the words of others — especially those others worth repeating. This means more than just an ability to mentally look up a handy phrase or a mot juste; it means having greater personal and mental resources within oneself to engage reality. A memorized text can offer something that even the handiest book of quotations or search engine can’t provide, and it does so in a more organic way. ‘



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  • http://www.facebook.com/chetler chetler

    I find that part of understanding a well-written thought is memorization because it helps me understand the flow. Here are two dangers though to memorization: once it’s no longer fresh, it can easily become stale and rote (think the Lord’s Prayer, or Pledge of Allegiance). Sometimes you have to un-memorize it by learning a new translation, or explain what it means to a child. Second, we have to guard against the danger of making ourselves the authority. Something is true because it corresponds to reality, not because it’s how we remembered it. Agreed, our over-reliance on Google and searches requires we need memorization even given these concerns.

  • SniperedPastor

    I just googled “mot juste” and that was worth the read, and it strengthened your second point.

    Having memorized multiple chapters in scripture in the past, I have experienced none of the staleness mentioned above. On the contrary, the discipline gave me a freshness in many other chapters of Scripture and in my theology (not to mention my sanctification).

    It was painfully difficult to do, but I pressed on with an accountability partner. It was hard because I was caused to think in different syntax than I normally used. And, obviously, I was caused to think more deeply about the association between words, phrases, paragraphs, thoughts and chapters. Thoughts I would not have pursued in reading or even studying.

    Also, I was forced to consider the “famous” verses within their contexts and caused me to wonder: Why do we focus so much popularity on THAT verse as opposed to the surrounding verses (think, John 3:16).

    Thanks for bringing these ideas up, and I would love to consider some other benefits.

  • Jeff Cannon

    Another benefit of having chapters and books of Scripture memorized is that as we study other passages we more readily see the connections between the books. I like to think that in some small way I am “thinking God’s thoughts after Him”.

    Your mention of Cicero brings to light another benefit of this process. Being able to audibly recite a large block of
    Scripture in an appropriate setting can have a dramatic impact in the life of another. The art of oration has certainly changed in the age of the teleprompter, but God still honors His Word and its power is undiminished.