Robert Herrick: Three Poems
Today's daily practice session for expanding my repertory. Constantly expanding repertory is an ongoing activity for every serious rhapsode. Poems for one's repertory could be divided into these categories: 1) memorized/ready to perform live from memory, 2) familiar/ready to be performed live with script in hand, 3) learning 4) to learn later. Of course, not all rhapsodes necessarily aspire to perform live, so categories 1 & 2 need not be part of the repertory of all rhapsodes. But certainly, if the poem is not "learned by heart," the common term for memorized, it should at least be well learned so that it can be performed intelligently, with perfect or excellent understanding of its meanings, and with great fluidity and commitment in the voice. Constantly searching for "new" classic poems to perform by reading as many books of poetry as possible and listening to other performances of classic poetry should be part and parcel of a serious rhapsode's daily activities.
