People regularly ask "Why all the memorization?" and there are several answers: - Most people are not called to memorize anything as adults. Simply polishing off the rust induces pride and self-esteem - That which is not known cannot be integrated. "I can just Google it" does not allow you to tie together ideas in your head, both actively and in the background as you live your life. - Automaticity, "the ability to perform a task effortlessly, quickly, and without conscious attention as a result of extensive learning, repetition, and practice." When we are young, we memorize things like multiplication tables that we know we'll use a lot. It would be inefficient if it took effort every time we had to do basic multiplication. So training those skills such that they execute automatically frees up cognitive space for higher order and more syntopical thinking. - Memorizing something is kind of like conditioning a muscle. Once you have it memorized, you get more delight out of reciting or recalling it. And: memorizing a poem or a work allows you to have the physical experience of being a vessel for that work. It is a way to invite the muse into your life in a way that is beyond your current years or capacity. Perhaps you cannot write a transcendent poem, but you can still feel transcendence through the recitation of another's work.