The act of speaking or performing memorized words, poems, or passages aloud, often in front of an audience.
From Latin 'recitare' meaning 'to read aloud,' from 're-' (again) and 'citare' (to summon or call). The meaning evolved from reading to mean any formal spoken performance.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, recitation was the main form of home entertainment—families would gather for dramatic performances of poems and speeches from memory, making celebrities out of people with exceptional memories.
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