As this NYTimes.com essays argues in The Case for Memorizing Poetry, there are lots of benefits to it. And before you write the idea off, consider these two mythbusters:

Myth No. 1: Poetry is painful to memorize. It is not at all painful. Just do a line or two a day.

Myth No. 2: There isn’t enough room in your memory to store a lot of poetry. Bad analogy. Memory is a muscle, not a quart jar.

A good and cheap way to improve your life. Shakespearean actors do it all the time. Why not you?

Sadly, not categorically against it, at least not in 2006. I don’t think he has changed his opinion either. Closer to September 11, 2001, this would have made him popular. Also very sad.

See If torture works… « Prospect Magazine