I had to recite in high school (Omaha, Nebraska, '72-'76) and the required stuff was mostly Shakespeare or Walter De La Mare. But we could choose things too, and I was very pleased with myself when I got my "perfect" repertoire up to ten long poems by my senior year.

But I didn't mention my accomplishment to my grandmother or my father (she was born in 1896 and he was born in 1920.) They were both word perfect on poems THEY had learned in high school, and both knew lots more than ten.

Recently I found a book called "Committed to Memory" edited by John Hollander, and a lot of the poems I remember them quoting are in it. Too late to ask them which ones they knew, alas, but the memories are still in my head.

CD