Memorizing a sonnet.

That's alot to cram in a few hours, i think only actors and people with a super memory can learn that within a short time.

Some say visualizing stuff like that helps, as a story in your mind, but that never helped for me.
Maybe write the first letters on a piece of paper and see what you can remember from there, and when you remember a line go on to the next.

I had to do this several times in high school and college. What worked best for me was to break it up to like 4 lines at a time and repeat out loud as just reading it over and over would not stick. Breaking it up also makes it look less daunting to learn. Master 4 lines and than add a a few more lines and so on. Also with poetry I find it easier to memorize if I understand what it means. I would always wait till the last minute to cram it this way lol.

I hate "teachers" that require you to memorize things. Memorizing is not learning. Sorry, I have no tips for you. I could never memorize something unless I could see a reason for me to need to know it.

set it to music. Then hum the tune.

cheatz

View attached image.

Record yourself reading it out loud then play it back on a continuous loop.

Lol, that's 14 lines, mate

We had to do this in elementary school: http://lukoshko.net/pushk/pushk2.shtml

I found walking back and forth across the room and proclaiming the lines out loud helpful back then. You can definitely do this in one evening, I believe in you :)

Try reading it like this:

When in disgrace/
with fortune and men’s eyes,/
I all alone /
beweep my outcast state/
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, /
And look upon myself and curse my fate, /
wishing me /
like to one more rich in hope, /
Featured like him, /
like him with friends possessed,/
Desiring this man’s art,/
and that man’s scope, /
With what I most enjoy contented least; /
Yet /
in these thoughts myself almost despising, /
Haply I think on thee/
—and then my state,/
Like to the lark at break of day arising /
From sullen earth /
sings hymns at heaven’s gate; /
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, /
That then I scorn/
to change my state with kings.

Write it down (saying it as you go).

Thats how we did it at school... back in my day and all that - doesnt work for everybody, but does yield results for most.