However a significant difference between the two poems is that they are both set in different stages in her life. This is displayed in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ because she uses onomatopoeic words like boo and shoo this highlights that the speaker is a child. “I go boo make them shoo” the quotation proves that the child is trying to scare away her fears. Conversely ‘still I rise’ discourse her adults life “does my sexiness scare you...like ive got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs”. The quotation above proves that she is older because she says that she has diamonds and only adults have diamonds.
Another main similarity between the two poems is that they both sound like they are courageous. This is shown in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ because she says that anything that would usually scares people normally dosen’t scare her “panthers in the park, all alone in the dark, no, they don’t frighten me at all” the quotation above proves that she is not scared of things that normal people would be scared of, she also reslises that reality is more scary than fiction. Similarly in ‘still I rise’ she is saying that no matter what happens she will rise nothing can stop her from being like normal people.
“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still like air Ill rise”.
The evidence above demonstrates that you can put her down as much as she wants but she we still rise, she is also using personification.
However another significant difference between the two poems is that although they are both using courage’s speech one is reassuring herself self telling her that’s she is ok but the other poem is telling her that she has overcome her fears. This is displayed in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ because she is just saying that she is ok but really deep down inside she is really scared.
“No, they don’t frighten me at all”
The quotation above proves that she is not sure if she is not scared she is just telling herself that.
But in ‘still I rise she is confident and she knows that she can overcome anything you put in her way.
“Just like moons and like the suns,
With certainty of the tide……..still I rise”
The quotation above proves that she is confident that she will rise just like the suns and the moons they will always rise, she also uses a simile here comparing her to the sun and the moon saying she will rise.
Another main similarity between both texts is that the last verse strongly repeats the message. This is shown in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ because she is drumming it in to her head that life doesn’t frighten her at all
“Life doesn’t frighten me at all,
Not at all, not at all,
Life doesn’t frighten me at all”.
Similarly in still I rise the last verse is also drumming it in to her head that no matter what happens she will rise
“I rise, I rise, I rise”
However another significant difference between both texts are talking about different types of fear this is shown in ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ because it is about childhood fear, imagery fear. “Mean old mother goose, lions on the loose……dragons breathing flame” the quotation above shows that she is scared of all the things children are scared of. Conversely in still I rise it is bout discrimination “you may write me down in history with your twisted lies” the quotation above shows a negative vision on black people in the history.
In conclusion of the theme of pride and fear is displayed because in one poem she is growing up through the fear of being bullied and picked on but in the other she is proud of being black and she is stronger.
By Aron Heaton
