You might remember the meaning of the character 烈 with this easy mnemonic:
He is a very ardent lover. He said he would not be afraid to face death (歹) for me and carries razors (刂) with him to keep me safe when we're walking in a bad neighborhood. He kindles (灬) the fire of my love.
Using mnemonics to remember the meaning of Chinese characters like has a huge impact on how long to learn Mandarin it takes.