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The American poet Maya Angelou's "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" was first published as a picture book (illustrated by the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat) in 1993. In this poem, a little girl claims that she's not the least bit frightened of—well, anything, from "panthers" to "tough guys." While her list of the things she's not frightened of might ...
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- Summary of Life Doesn’T Frighten Me
- Structure of Life Doesn’T Frighten Me
- Poetic Techniques Inlife Doesn’T Frighten Me
- Life Doesn’T Frighten Meanalysis
The poem takes the reader into the mind of a child who has, or so she asserts, found a way to overcome fear in her life. She repeats the refrain“Life doesn’t frighten me at all” several times in these lines. It reminds the reader, and also reminds the speaker herself, what she’s trying not to feel. The speaker takes the reader through many of the n...
‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ by Maya Angelou is a fourteen-stanza poem that is separated into uneven sets of lines. The stanzas range in length from one single line up to seven lines. The majority are tercets, meaning they have three lines. Angelou made use of a simple rhyme scheme within the text. The tercets mainly rhyme AAAA or AAB While the major...
Angelou makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’. These include, but are not limited to, repetition, anaphora, alliteration, and enjambment. The first, repetition, is the use and reuse of a specific technique, word, tone or phrase within a poem. Angelou repeats the refrain, “frighten me at all” ten times in the poem. It ...
Stanzas One and Two
In the first stanza of ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,’ the speaker begins by taking note of the few things that might if she wasn’t so sure of her place in the world, frighten her. These are the “shadows on the wall” and the “noises down the hall”. The perfect rhyme that these lines and the others in this poem have, make each of these statements feel like a nursery rhyme. Something that its meant for a child to hear, read, or remember and take strength from. There is in the second stanza a refere...
Stanzas Three and Four
The third and fourth stanzas are similar to the two that came before them. Angelou speaks on “Mean old Mother Goose,” making this poem feel even more like it is meant to resemble a nursery rhyme. She also uses alliteration to declare that the “Lions on the loose” do not frighten her either. The fourth stanza brings in “Dragons breathing fire” on her bedspread”. She isn’t afraid of those either.
Stanzas Five and Six
The fifth stanza is the longest of the poem with seven lines. It is followed by the sixth stanza which only has one line. When the speaker comes upon the things she mentioned in the first four stanzas she scares them off. She says “boo” and they “shoo”. They run when she makes fun of them and they fly away when she doesn’t cry. She stands up to everything custom-made to scare her. The following single line is a repetition of the refrain “Life doesn’t frighten me at all”.
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- October 9, 1995
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A poem about overcoming fear and defying life's challenges, 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' is a children's book by Maya Angelou. The speaker lists various things that can scare people, but claims she is not afraid of them, and reveals her magic charm to walk underwater.
Oct 28, 2023 · Poem Analysis: 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' by Maya Angelou. 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' is a simple, repetitive poem that is written from a child's perspective, the speaker going over things in her life that she has to overcome to move on. It is a series of loosely connected images tied up with mostly full-end rhymes and a repeated refrain, which ...
Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is a powerful and empowering work of literature that speaks to the fears and anxieties that many of us face in our daily lives. In this article, we will unpack the poem’s themes and imagery, exploring how Angelou uses language and metaphor to convey her message of courage ...
May 3, 2013 · A children’s book featuring Maya Angelou’s courageous verses and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s colorful drawings. The poem expresses defiance of fear and celebrates the power of creativity in the face of adversity.
