# Which poem should I memorize? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899 "2009-01-05T02:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/101 "2009-01-09T19:28:09Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Paradise Lost seems like a crazy idea that I might be tempted to do, but I’ve never read it. So, would it be worth it? Could I just do one of the books? Which one? Honestly I think even relatively dedicated fans of poetry will glaze over during epic recitations – better to cherry-pick the good stuff and keep it short enough to allow people to follow it. Leave 'em wishing for more and not less. My favorite dramatic selection from Paradise Lost is in Book I, [the passage about Satan’s fall](http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:0jXwVkapWAgJ:www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/komparatistik/downloads/Milton%2520Paradise%2520Lost%2520Anfang.doc+%22said+then+the+lost+archangel%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us). If you’re of a mind to go for length you can do the whole thing; I stuck to a bite-sized piece, cherry-picking Satan’s defiant speech: > [@](#): > > “Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,” > > Said then the lost Archangel, > > \ > > Regained in Heaven, or what more lost in Hell? When speaking, you can really ham it up during Satan’s monologue. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/102 "2009-01-10T06:44:35Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > Whoosh. I don’t think I understand the ‘whoosh’ as quoted on SDMB… can someone elucidate? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/103 "2009-01-10T06:59:57Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > I don’t think I understand the ‘whoosh’ as quoted on SDMB… can someone elucidate? The would be **Elucidator’s** job. But I can explain. A whoosh is a very obviously sarcastic comment that goes unnoticed by another poster. Or perhaps intentionally, but again, obviously obtuse remark. Something subtle does not count. [Samantha Bee is not funny - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=500972) is a thread where I “whoosed” someone. Yes, pride is the most deadly sin. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/104 "2009-01-10T13:12:12Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > I don’t think I understand the ‘whoosh’ as quoted on SDMB… can someone elucidate? I see the term explained as, “You’re putting us on.” I wish I hadn’t used it this time. Trying to be a good boyo here. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/105 "2009-01-10T15:32:16Z")
I’ll only be impressed if you memorize “The Faerie Queene.” Anything else is child’s play. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/106 "2009-01-10T15:45:58Z")
[Ozymandias](http://www.online-literature.com/shelley_percy/672/) ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899/107 "2009-01-10T21:13:11Z")
How about ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley? ‘The Tyger’ by Blake is good too. For a challenging rhythm, one of my favourites is ‘Pied Beauty’ by Hopkins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-poem-should-i-memorize/479899.md?page=5)