how can I memorize 21 lines (for a play) in 1 day?

Question

Please help!

ang it's a shakespere play! I can't really understand what I'm saying sometimes!

Answer 1

Actually, 21 lines in a single day is a lot. It's hard to be really solid after only a single day. Here are a few tricks that'll help, but just know that even a professional actor would consider that a minor accomplisment.

* First of all, find out what every single line means. Ask the director, a teacher, pick up an annotated edition like the Arden... or you can ask me. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing. Just post what speech it is.

* Break it into sentences. Translate each sentence into your own words. If something goes wrong, use your own words. The most important thing is that the show must go on.

* In all likelihood, the speech you're working on is poetry. If it rhymes, that's a huge advantage to you. Listen to the rhymes; they'll help remind you of what comes next. (Shakespeare usually rhymed speeches in couplets). Even if the speech isn't rhyming, the last two lines sometimes are.

* If there's no rhyme, the meter may at least help. It's got kind of a ba-DUM ba-DUM meter, like this:

the E-vil THAT men DO lives AF-ter THEM
the GOOD is OFT in-TER-red WITH their BONES

(from Julius Caesar). Shakespeare isn't absolutely wedded to the perfect meter, and sometimes our pronunciations have changed so that it doesn't work any more, but you can still use it as a clue. (For example, today we'd just say "in-TERD" rather than "in-TER-red". Most editors will write it as "inter'd" when they want it the former way, and "interred" for the latter.

* If this is for a play, make sure you get the last line exactly right if you can. That's your cue to the next actor, and he/she will be listenting for it. If you get nothing else right, get that line.

* Beyond that, the same thing applies to Shakespeare as to all plays: do it over and over and over. Eventually, it becomes part of "muscle memory", the way you don't have to think about individual letters when you write. Start by reading the first two lines (or even better, the first whole sentence). Say it with the paper over and over and over. Then try it without the paper, but use it if you get lost. When you're fairly confident, do the same with the second sentence. Then say the first two sentences together, and so on.

Think about the way the sentences flow together. They're not just random lines. You're expressing a thought. The second sentence is "cued" by the first one, like a paragraph. Don't worry so much about the actual line breaks except as cues for rhyme and meter. It's sentences, not lines.

That's a lot of work. Like I said, a professional will often only memorize maybe 50 lines a day. They usually take days to get an entire script.

Answer 2

I know this is long but I think it will be useful so bare with me.
First of all the most important thing is that you understand what you’re saying. If your script does not come with side notes explaining the old English see if you can get the Oxford script from your library they are very detailed in their explanations. Read through your lines until you understand what your saying, why your saying it, how you feel about what you’re saying, who you’re saying it to and what they think about it. Once you understand what your saying memorization will become a lot easier. To make sure you understand exactly what you’re saying you can try translating your lines to modern English and saying them once through like that.
Don't be daunted by the fact it's Shakespeare! It is not that different and will be a lot easier to pick up then say Latin :).

As for the memorization part read your lines every chance you get! The more you read them the more failure you will be with them. Get to know the punctuation and the way it feels to say each line. If it is a monologue it helps to go through the thought process your character is having and pin pointing when you think of your the next line your going to say.
It helps me also to hear other people say it. If you have a friend who also needs help memorizing offer that you'll read her scene to her if she'll read yours to you. (It also helps to work in a group to figure out the language too).
Every so often over the day get someone to test you on your lines by reading you your cues. The more time you spend saying the lines out loud with the script in front of you paying attention to what your saying, the punctuation dictating how you say it, and the over all mood of the scene the easier it will be to remember them on stage is my experience.

I hope that was helpful, I know it can seem impossible but if you work at it you can do it almost easily! :)
Break a leg!

Answer 3

Just repeat one sentence five times, then the next five times, then put them together and say them ten times. Then say the next sentence five times (or line since it's shakespere) and then add it to the other two...do that until you've said all 21 lines a couple times and then go do something else. If you get frustrated with it then you won't memorize it as well. Take some breaks. Then go back to it later...hope I helped...good luck & break a leg...

Answer 4

Oh, for goodness sake.

21 lines is not many. But the problem is you don't understand them. If you understand them they will tend to form a story that you can follow with greater ease.

The fact that the lines then have a rhythm (which that nice Mr Shakespeare designed that way) should then help you learn them.

Aside from that, figure out if you have visual memory or an audial memory. You remember things better by reading or hearing? If it's the former, wirte out the lines and say them to yourself as you do about 3 times. If the later, record them on a tape and play them back to yourself.

Good luck.

Answer 5

21 lines isn't all THAT much...but it's a pretty good-sized chunk. You can do it.

If someone assigned you 21 lines to memorize in a day, it's a bad assignment. If you had more time to do it, and just left it until the last minute, that's your problem.

If you'll say which Shakespearean character it is and tell us what passage you have to memorize, we can probably help with the meaning of the text.

Answer 6

The clue to doing this is in your answer. You have 21 lines. Memorize them by the number, but first put the lines in order as to which line comes next. Write them out and be sure to put an appropriate number in front of each line. It will be easier than you think.

Answer 7

Is it a monologue you have to do (or soliloquy?) If it's a scene with more than one character speaking, learn some of the line before you say it moves more smoothly. If you're the only one talking, practice saying the lines out loud with different emphasis on different syllables until you find a style you like. Then, just keep repeating the lines.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Answer 8

Never tried on play lines before, but how about visualizing items... since there are more than one line.. a string of items? This helped when I had to memorize names of stuff in latin.

Answer 9

put those lines in the form of a favorite song and repeat until memorized. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 10

continue to say them over and over again in your head like a song-- have someone in front of u guiding you and testing you to make sure you have all the lines right!