Our Deepest Fear

Our Deepest Fear

By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear in 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?
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the World.
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel unsure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Summary of Our Deepest Fear

  • Popularity of “Our Deepest Fear”: This is a narrative written in poetic style by Marianne Willamson. It appeared in her self-help book, A Return to Love, which hit the markets in 1992 and proved the most quotable passage in the history of the self-help book publishing industry. It is interesting to note that this passage has been misattributed to Nelson Mandela several times. Almost every other American hero after 1992 has quoted this passage after his/her achievement. The passage sums up the message that it is self-confidence and man’s power to achieve things that terrify humanity. That is why the poetic narrative has won popularity not only in the United States but also across the globe.
  • “Our Deepest Fear” As a Representative of Man’s Power and Creativity: The speaker, who happens to be Marrianne Williamson herself, states that the deepest fear of mankind is not that we do not have enough capability. or resources, or ability. In fact, our deepest fears are that mankind has found itself too powerful to hold it in check. It is the knowledge, the light, and the knowing power that has made mankind fear itself. We question our ability which we are to become. Then she states that man is the creature of God and playing small does not serve the real purpose. He must come up to his abilities and do what God demands of us to achieve gloriousness for Him. Interestingly, she is of the view that this ability to achieve greatness lies in everybody. When we shine this light on others, we consciously permit others, and this liberates us from our fears.
  • Major Themes in “Our Deepest Fear”: Spirituality, knowing thyself, and self-confidence are three major thematic strands of this poem. When the poet says that it is our inner light that liberates us, she means that mankind knows how much it can achieve and what qualities and abilities it has to do. Therefore, this is our inner fear of knowledge and doing things likewise that terrify us. It is because man’s abilities are limitless to do good and bad things. When we serve others, it dawns upon us that we have so much power in our hands to do equally good and bad things. When we do good to serve others, it is what liberates us from our fear. She is of the view that this achievement of knowing thyself gives us confidence. In fact, she succinctly puts it that it means when we serve others, we manifest the glory of God.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Our Deepest Fear

Marianne Williamson’s skill of using literary devices is obvious in this poem. Some of the major literary devices she has used show it as follows.

  1. Allusion: It is a reference of historical, literary religious significance to point out the relevance of the present with the past. The poem shows the use of a religious illusion, such as “You are a child of God.”
  2. Anaphora: It is the repetition of some phrase or a clause before a verse to stress upon the main idea. The phrase “Out deepest fear” shows the use of anaphora in this poem.
  3. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ and /i/ in “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate” and the sound of /o/ in “It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.”
  4. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /s/ in “sweet spring” and /th/ in “though the” and again /m/ in “make manifest.”
  5. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ and /s/ in “It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone” and the sound of /r/ in “our presence automatically liberates others.”
  6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Marianne Williamson has used imagery in this poem such as “It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us”, “There is nothing enlightening about shrinking” and “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.”
  7. Personification: It means to attribute human qualities to inanimate things or abstract ideas. The poem shows the use of personification of “presence” which seems to have the attribute to liberate people.
  8. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as fear, light, darkness, God, and World to show the elements of religious goodness in the poem.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Our Deepest Fear

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Diction: It means the type of language. This poem shows narrative and formal diction used for poetic purposes.
  2. Narrative Verse: Narrative verse means to use narrative in poetic form. This poem is written in narrative verses.
  3. Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a religious, optimistic, and moralistic tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the goodness of mankind.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.