THE advantage of memorizing poetry is that when somethings happening, maybe even youβre in a situation or a location, you can just go βok. lady of shallott timeβ and boom. you reclaimed your mental space and attention for YOU for the next ten minutes
Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes, and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator.
β Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
i know this is humorous but! i learned from one of my college friends (who learned from a therapist) that reciting a poem you have memorized is a great grounding & focusing technique when youβre spiraling into anxiety or panic. i can personally attest that The Tyger has staved off several panic attacks.
so like if said βsituation or locationβ is freaking you out really badly, βlady of shallott timeβ can help reclaim your mental health too
Ok everybody share what poems you can recite in case weβre trapped in an elevator.
Iβve got the first 42 lines of The Canterbury Tales in Middle English, the first 10 lines of Beowulf in Old English, the first canto of Tolkienβs Lay of Beren and Luthien, and Sonnet XVI by Pablo Neruda (βI love the handful of the earth you areβ). I used to have the Proem of the Kalevala but Iβm a bit shaky on it it now and I think iβve only got the first two sentences. Anda handful of others I half-remember which i could probably do if I were with someone else who half-remembered the same ones and we could prompt each other back and forth.
