The Power of Poetry: How Reading and Reciting Poetry Helps Young Minds Grow

Why learning a poem is about so much more than remembering words.

Poetry is sometimes seen as a rather traditional part of education – something children learn for a school assembly, a performance or perhaps a LAMDA exam. But behind the rhymes, rhythms and carefully chosen words lies something rather remarkable: poetry offers young minds a wonderful workout, helping to develop memory, language, literacy and communication skills.

At RM Drama, we're passionate about encouraging children to read, explore and perform poetry, not simply because it is beautiful literature, but because the process of engaging with poetry develops skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

1. Poetry, Rhythm and the Developing Brain

Children are naturally drawn to rhythm and repetition. Think of how readily a toddler picks up a nursery rhyme, often before they can recognise individual letters.

The rhythmic patterns found in poetry encourage children to listen closely to the sounds within words. This develops phonological awareness – the ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds that make up spoken language.

Phonological awareness is an important foundation for learning to read. Recognising rhyme, syllables and patterns helps children understand how language works, supporting the development of decoding and early literacy skills.

Poetry provides a particularly enjoyable way of practising these abilities, often without children realising quite how much they're learning!

2. Strengthening Memory and Concentration

Learning a poem by heart is a valuable exercise in memory.

When children memorise poetry, they practise holding information in mind, organising it into manageable sections and retrieving it when needed.

Rhythm, rhyme and repetition act as natural memory aids, helping children recognise patterns and anticipate what comes next.

The process also encourages children to develop useful learning strategies:

• Breaking longer passages into smaller sections.

• Using rhythm and meaning to support recall.

• Repeating and revisiting material over time.

• Building concentration and perseverance.

These are transferable skills that can support learning across the curriculum, whether remembering vocabulary, preparing a presentation or learning information for an examination.

Importantly, memorisation is a skill that can be developed through practice. Poetry offers children an accessible and rewarding way to strengthen it.

3. Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Reading poetry aloud encourages children to pay attention to the relationship between words, punctuation and meaning.

Unlike ordinary conversation, poetry often requires us to think carefully about where to pause, which words to emphasise and how the rhythm of a sentence affects its meaning.

This develops reading fluency – the ability to read accurately, smoothly and with expression.

A child who understands why a poet has chosen a particular word or placed a pause in a particular position is beginning to move beyond simply decoding text towards interpreting it.

Poetry also introduces children to rich vocabulary, figurative language and unfamiliar sentence structures, encouraging them to think more deeply about what they read.

4. Expanding Vocabulary and Language Skills

Poets have a wonderful habit of using language in unexpected ways.

A single poem might introduce a child to unfamiliar vocabulary, an unusual metaphor or a striking description that they would be unlikely to encounter in everyday conversation.

Exploring these choices helps children develop a richer understanding of language.

They begin to recognise that words can communicate more than their literal meaning, and that language can be playful, persuasive, humorous, moving or dramatic.

These discoveries can enrich both their spoken language and their creative writing.

5. Building Confidence Through Recitation

There is an important distinction between reading a poem silently and standing up to share it with an audience.

When children recite poetry, they must combine memory, comprehension and communication.

They learn to project their voices, articulate clearly, maintain focus and use expression to communicate meaning.

Perhaps most importantly, they experience the satisfaction of mastering something that initially seemed difficult.

For a young child, the achievement of learning and performing an entire poem can be enormously empowering.

At RM Drama, we frequently see how this sense of achievement helps children become more confident and willing to express themselves.

6. Developing Emotional Understanding and Imagination

Poetry invites children to explore experiences beyond their own.

A poem might be funny, mysterious, joyful, wistful or thought-provoking. Through its language and imagery, children are encouraged to consider different perspectives and emotional experiences.

When performing poetry, they must think about what the poet is communicating and how best to share that feeling with an audience.

This encourages empathy, interpretation and imagination – qualities that are valuable not only in drama and literature, but in children's wider social and emotional development.

Why We Should Encourage Children to Learn Poetry

In an age when information is available at the touch of a button, memorisation can sometimes seem unnecessary. Why learn something by heart when we can simply look it up?

But the value lies not only in remembering the finished poem. It lies in the process of learning it.

Reading, exploring, rehearsing and reciting poetry gives children opportunities to practise concentration, strengthen recall, develop language awareness and build confidence in their own voices.

Of course, poetry alone cannot guarantee improvements in memory or academic performance. But it provides a rich and enjoyable combination of activities that support important aspects of children's learning and development.

And there is another benefit, perhaps the most important of all: introducing children to poetry when they are young can foster a lifelong appreciation of language and literature.

At RM Drama, we believe that learning to speak poetry beautifully begins with learning to understand and enjoy it. If children discover the pleasure of words early in life, that is something they can carry with them for years to come.

Because a poem learned in childhood can stay with us for a lifetime.