When it comes to the English Literature paper, the aspect that most people struggle with is how to remember all of the necessary quotes for your set texts, which is completely understandable!
It can be overwhelming when faced with books, plays and poems to know where to start when it comes to choosing, let alone memorising the quotes, which is why we’ve put together this guide for helping you to feel confident when using quotes in your exam.
Before you begin…
Group Your Quotations by Themes
Before you can start memorising your quotes, think about which quotes are going to be the most useful and most effective when it comes to the exam. As you don’t know what the questions are going to be about, you’re going to want to have quotes that are multi-functional across a variety of themes, so that you are as prepared as you can be for all eventualities.
For example, if you were studying Macbeth, you might be working with themes such as ambition, the supernatural, good versus evil, appearance and reality and fate (although there may be more that you come up with). The quotes that you would go on to choose, would ideally fall under multiple categories, such as Lady Macbeth’s line: “Come, you spirits /That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here /And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full /Of direst cruelty!”, which could be used in relation to ambition, the supernatural and good versus evil.
Arguably, this quote is a little too long for the type of quote you would be expected to memorise, although if you are able to then well done! The most important thing is that you are able to remember the majority of the quote with accuracy, and that you have a reason for using these quotes that can be supported in your argument in your essay.
Once you have a collection of quotes that correspond with the themes of your set texts and poems, you are ready to start memorising them!
Create Rhymes and Songs
A brilliant (and fun!) way to remember your quotes is to create rhymes, songs and mnemonics in order to get your chosen quotes to stick in your mind. With Shakespeare, a lot of his work is already written in the rhythmic iambic pentameter, so working with this to ‘tap’ out the quotes is a great way of learning them. If you don’t have 10 taps when you’re revising the quote, it’s a sure fire sign that you’re missing a word from it (unless you have a pesky 9 or 11 syllable line, but that’s for another time)! When it comes to rhymes or songs for your other texts, perhaps you could put the quote to an existing well-known song such as ‘Happy Birthday’ or a nursery rhyme to help you remember it, or even make up your own! If you keep the quotes relatively short (between 4 and 10 words), it will make it even easier to create a song around them, and you can create rhymes that not only include the quote, but relate to the quote itself.
When it comes to mnemonics, these are sometimes a little tricker, but again, if you’re using relatively short quotes, you can have fun coming up with them! One of the most famous mnemonics is the one used for remembering the orders of the colours of the rainbow, which is: Richard (red) Of (orange) York (yellow) Gave (green) Battle (blue) In (indigo) Vain (violet)and just shows you how experimental you can be when thinking of the most suitable mnemonic to suit you and work best with your memory!
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
This is arguably one of the most important methods of memorising quotes, and works for pretty much everything! If you think about your favourite song, or a particularly catchy one that you hear all the time on the radio or through social media, the way we end up learning the lines is from having the song on repeat, whether intentionally or not. Combined with a memorable rhythm (see, it all fits together!), you find that in a short amount of time you know the words to the song, which is exactly the method you can use when it comes to quotes for your English exam.
One way of enforcing repetition in your revision, is to work on repeating one set of quotes from one particular set text during a revision session, take a break, and see how many you can remember. Then, do the same again, and repeat as many quotes as you can (whilst keeping the meaning in mind, too!), and see how many you can remember now. The following day, or the next time you are revising for English, do the same exercise but for a different set text or set of poems. You can do this throughout the week, then go back to the first set of quotes you were memorising and repeat as necessary. If you begin this exercise early enough in the revision process, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can learn these, and how much will get stored in your long-term memory, which is exactly where you want those quotes to be able to access it all in your exam!
Use Flashcards and Post-It Notes
One tool that you may already be familiar with is creating your own flashcards, as well as using post-it notes to help you when you’re at home. You can easily make flashcards yourself, or buy cards already cut to size, and the most efficient way to use them is to write out the quote on one side, and on the other write down where the quote came from, for example which text, and the chapter or act and scene number.
You might also want to note down which theme the quote corresponds to, too. If you’re revising on your own, a great way to test yourself is to start off by covering the last word of the quote and see if you are able to fill it in, then the last two words, and three, until you are able to turn over the card completely and remember the full quote. You can also do the reverse, and see if you can remember whereabouts in the text your quote has come from. If you are revising with a friend or family member, you can get them to test you by asking which quote comes from Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth, for example, that explores the theme of the supernatural.
With post-it notes, you can stick them up in your work space at home or your bedroom, so that you’re surrounded by them every day, and you’re able to read them when you’re getting ready for school or getting ready for bed. If your parents or guardians allow, you might even want to stick them around the house as constant reminders!
Create Visual Clues and Cues
Following on from using post-its as an aid for revision, another great way to remember your quotes, especially if you’re a visual learner, is to create visual clues and cues for yourself. You can do this in a number of ways, but one of the easiest is to begin associating images with your chosen quotes in order to bring them to mind much quicker. Much in the same way that you might have played picture snap when you were younger, you can add images to your flashcards to provide an extra aspect of memory retention, or even create new cards that just have the images on, with a quote on the back.
For example, if we go back to our Lady Macbeth quote “…fill me from the crown to the toe top-full /Of direst cruelty!”, you might want to draw a jug being filled with the word ‘cruelty’ with a crown on top, so that you’re able to get as many aspects of the quote in as possible, whilst also being able to come back to that distinct image when you’re searching for the quote in your exam. Again, you could put these images around your workspace, or use them as flashcards, but either way, having a different method of memorising your quotes that isn’t solely word based, can be a fun and engaging way to increase your capacity for learning all the quotes you need.
Although there may be many more ways that you might choose to memorise your quotes, we hope that some of these methods will prove helpful when it comes to your exams, and even provide you with some enjoyment along the way!
If you’re really struggling with retaining the quotes you need, or feel as though you need some extra help with your exam preparation in general, please feel free to get in touch with us here, and we would be very happy to discuss finding a suitable tutor for you.
Blog Post Crafted by Cicely
Cicely works on our Admin Team, and also tutors extensively.
In 2020, Cicely discovered her love of teaching, and has been tutoring English Literature and Drama ever since, as well as running a drama school audition help service with her friend and fellow actor to help prospective drama school students with their audition speeches.
Cicely has had her poetry published in anthologies and online, and in her free time is an avid reader. She loves living by the sea, a good podcast, and taking long walks in the countryside.
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