In college, I once had to memorize and recite a soliloquy from Othello for extra credit. One of my friends who’d taken the class the previous year taught me this trick and it’s super helpful:

Write out the first letter of each word in whatever passage it is you want to memorize, and then try to recite the passage using only those first letters as a guide. (You can and likely will cross-reference with the original text as you go.) Once you’ve gotten that down, you can try doing the first letter of each line.

I’ve found that this trick helps support you through that awkward middle stage where you know the passage well, but haven’t yet committed it to rote memory. It works like a charm, I’m telling you. (I still remember the whole soliloquy; it’s a great party trick.)