Meeting Roles: Poet Master

How to Learn How to Recite a Poem (By Jill Davis, eHow Contributor)

• Read your poem out loud several times before your performance. You may not need to memorize your poem, but you should be completely familiar with it so there are no surprises about the content or questions about how to pronounce the words.

• Pay attention to punctuation. Many poems have line breaks where there is no period or comma in place. A line break doesn't mean that your recitation should stop. Only pause if there is punctuation. This prevents a choppy performance which confuses the listeners who probably don't have the poem in front of them.

• Read slowly. Many performers are nervous when speaking in front of a audience and want to get the reading finished quickly. For the listeners to understand the poem, it needs to be read slowly so they can hear and understand each word. Even if you think you're reading too slowly, you're probably at a good speed.

• Speak in a natural voice when reading poetry. Most poems are meant to be read in conversational tone. Don't be too dramatic. It's all right to add a humorous voice to a funny poem, for example, but don't be overly expressive. On the other hand, don't use a monotone voice. Some expression is necessary.

• Enunciate all of the words and speak loudly. If you're mumbling, the audience won't understand the meaning of the poem.

• Learn the correct pronunciation and the definition of all the words in the poem. If you don't know how to say a word, the audience may not understand what the poem is trying to convey. If you don't know what the words mean, you won't be able to give them the correct emphasis. Make notes on your page if that helps.

• Record yourself reading the poem, if possible. You may be surprised at the speed you're reading or the tone of your voice. Record the poem again and again until you are satisfied with the performance.  [Read more: How to Learn How to Recite a Poem | eHow.com ]

Popular Poems
(Click on the links below to read the poems at an external site)

• I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

• Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

• If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda

• I carry your heart with me by E. E. Cummings

• The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

• A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

• There is another sky by Emily Dickinson

• A Girl by Ezra Pound

• Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

• Fast rode the knight by Stephen Crane