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'Our Deepest Fear' Poem by Marianne Williamson (also attributed to Nelson Mandela) and 'The Invitation' by Oriah Mountain Dreamer - a deeply inspiring poem and quote.
Jul 30, 2019 · “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,...
- Meaning of Our Deepest Fear
- Structure of Our Deepest Fear
- Poetic Techniques in Our Deepest Fear
- Analysis of Our Deepest Fear
This poem taps into themes of spirituality, religion, self-perception, and self-confidence. The speakeraddresses, “you,” the reader, telling you that it is not the darkness that humanity fears but light. Everyone who hides their light is shirking their potential the God imbued them with. It is her belief that by doing this we are only harming one a...
‘Our Deepest Fear’ by Marianne Williamson is a six stanza poem that is separated into five sets of four lines, known as quatrains, and one set of two lines, known as a couplet. The lines do not follow a specific rhyme schemeor metrical pattern. They range in length from three words up to ten. Although there is no clear rhyme scheme in ‘Our Deepest ...
Williamson makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘Our Deepest Fear’. These include but are not limited to repetition, alliteration, and enjambment. The first of these, repetition, is seen through the literary device anaphora. It is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. This technique is of...
Stanzas One and Two
In the first stanzas of ‘Our Deepest Fear’ the speaker begins by making a very clear statement about what our, the human race’s, deepest fear is. It is “not that we are inadequate” she says, but that “we are powerful beyond measure”. These first two lines are the two most famous of the text. They are often quoted in speeches, especially at convocation ceremonies. They are also sometimes wrongly attributed to Nelson Mandela. Although this happens less than it used to after Williamson’s expande...
Stanzas Three and Four
In the next two stanzas, she goes on, using techniques like alliteration and enjambment to help with the rhythmof the text. She addresses human fear, that we are small and unable to grow, and pushes back against it. One of the main themes she presents in this part of the world is the desire to hide away one’s light from the world when “We are all meant to shine”. The speaker believes that human beings are doing a disservice to God if they do not reach their full potential.
Stanzas Five and Six
The fifth stanza is the only two-line stanza in the poem. Its brevity allows the two lines more impact than they might’ve otherwise had if they were included in one of the longer stanzas. She says that it is not just some of us that have potential but it is “in everyone”. This leads into the final four lines where she connects all human beings and their individual and mutual potentials together. We are all interconnected she says, so much so that our fear damages others and our liberation fre...
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- October 9, 1995
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Our Deepest Fear has been quoted for decades since it's printing… and often in movies such as Coach Carter and Akeelah and the Bee. In this blog post, we'll explore what exactly this poem means and how you can use it in your own life.
Nov 7, 2022 · Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. The first two sentences are best read together and are probably the most frequently quoted. They indicate that you are more afraid of how capable, complete, and powerful you are than of any perceived incapability, incompleteness, or powerlessness.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'
Poem analysis of Marianne Williamson’s Our Deepest Fear through the review of literary techniques, poem structure, themes, and the proper usage of quotes.
