An Analysis Of 'My Fear' By Lawrence Raab

Throughout one’s life, he or she will experience many situations where a lesson is learned, or a fear is amassed. One person may be able to deal with such terrors easily, while another will suffer because of the dread and panic that now haunts them. The poem ‘My Fear’ by Lawrence Raab discusses the haunting situation of fear following someone, and the personification, imagery, and tone of the speaker all provide depth to this seemingly innocent poem and allow one to truly appreciate how fear and troubles affect him or her. Throughout the poem, the author uses various types of figurative language to immerse the reader in the thoughts and feeling of the speaker. The personification of fear in the form of Mr. Fear provides one such example.

There are two distinct tones throughout the poem: a tone of weariness and resignation in the first half of the poem, and then a tone of wistfulness and desperation in the second. First, the tone of weariness can be found in lines such as ‘Here, death, and here, something like it.’ (lines 3-4) and ‘...what do you have for me tonight?’ (line 6). Also, ‘Maybe he’s sorry.’ (line 10) demonstrates the resignation of the speaker because the speaker obviously knows that he or she is unable to influence Mr. Fear in any way, and uncaringly wonders if the personified fear feels anything about the suffering he causes the speaker. Such quotes from the poem imply the speaker has experienced fear before, and he or she knows that the experience is going to relapse despite anything they do. Also, even in the title, ‘My Fear,’ there is no real emotion other than resigned acceptance of the fear that is lamented upon by the speaker. In the second half of the poem, however, the speaker has progressed from resignation to desperation, fear, and nostalgic wistfulness. The quotes, ‘Make it small, please,’ (line 14) and ‘let it fall through the hole in my pocket,’ (line 15) show the increasing hysteria and desperation the speaker feels as he or she realizes that the inevitable is swiftly

In the end, the journey the speaker embarked on throughout the poem was one of learning, especially as the reader was taken through the evolution of the speakers thoughts, demonstrated by the tone, and experienced the images that were seen in the speaker’s nightmare of the personified fear. As the journey commenced, the reader learned how the speaker dealt with the terrors and fears that were accompanied by some experience in the speaker’s life, and optimistically the reader learned just how they themselves deal with the consequences and troubles that are a result of the various situations they face in their