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Angelou, Maya. "Old Folks Laugh." PoemHunter.com. N.p., 09 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Maya Angelou." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Maya Angelou." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 05 Aug. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Poetry Activity Printable: "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" by Maya Angelou." Poetry Activity Printable: "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" by Maya Angelou. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Popova, Maria. "Life Doesn’t Frighten Me: Maya Angelou’s Courageous Children’s Verses, Illustrated by Basquiat." Brain Pickings. N.p., 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Twentieth Century." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., 30 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

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The theme of this poem is courage, because the speaker refuses to let anything frighten her, "Life doesn't frighten me at all" (line 3, Angelou). There is no true structure because it contains tercets, stanzas of three lines, quatrains, stanza of four lines, and quintets, stanzas of five lines. The fifth stanza is made up of four couplets which are two lines that rhyme. The subject of this poem is the speaker, who is a little girl, and readers know this when the read the line "Boys all pull my hair" (line 29, Angelou) and "I go boo" (line 13, Angelou). Mainly just younger boys act that immature and her poor grammar shows that the speaker, herself, is also young. The topic being discussed is how the speaker is not afraid of anything. Maya Angelou wrote this poem to show how brave little kids can be. This poem is probably about her as a young girl because she went through some terrifying and scarring events at a young age. The tone is courageous and brave. A connotation Maya uses is life, because the definition of life is: the period between birth and death of a living thing; however Maya's version of life is much more personal and it's about everything she has and will experience between birth and death. Maya grew up in a time of discrimination where many African Americans were scared, but she chose to come to terms with it and not be afraid of the discrimination and racism.

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A theme of this poem is memory and experiences, which cause the old folks' laughter. "They turn slowly, slyly knowing the best and the worst of remembering" (line 14, Angelou), the memories from their long and intricate lives are the reasons behind their laughs, because they are remembering all of the good times and their silly mistakes. The structure of the poem is free verse which is poetry that is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical. This structure could symbolize how the old folks are breaking free from social standards and expectations by laughing with so much force. The subjects in the poem are the old folks, "Old folks allow their bellies to jiggle like slow tambourines." (lines 6-8, Angelou). Maya wrote this poem to show how older folks are trying to make the best of their lives by laughing about their past memories. Also it is about them breaking free from social expectations of being serious all of the time, "holding their lips this and that way, winding lines between their brows." (lines 3-6, Angelou). There is a relaxed and accepting tone. The elderly are now able to relax and be themselves and they are accepting who they are and that their lives are coming to an end, "they consider the promise of dear painless death.." (23-25, Angelou). Since the beginning of time, human adults were serious and it wasn't until the late 1800's when comedy and leisure became more common and acceptable, especially in the mid to late 1900's.

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Literary Terms for "Life Doesn't Frighten Me"

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Literary Terms for "Life Doesn't Frighten Me"

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1. End Rhyme-  a rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines of poetry. This is seen throughout the entire poem. From the first stanza the last words of each line are "wall", "hall" and "all".
2. Refrain- a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song. The line that is repeated several times throughout the poem is "Life doesn't frighten me at all" but more common is just the phrase "frighten me at all".
3. Allusion- a reference to a well- known person, place, event, literary work or work of art. The example in this poem is "Mean old Mother Goose", Mother Goose is an imaginary author for a collections of fairy tales in the 1800's.
4. Aphorism- a general truth or observation about life, usually stated concisely and pointedly. The main idea of this poem is about life and how the speaker is not afraid of it, "Life doesn't frighten me at all". The speaker has experience much in her life and nothing will scare her, because she knows they won't really do any harm.
5. Hyperbole- a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. This is seen when the speaker claims," I can walk the ocean floor and never have to breathe.". This is obviously an exaggeration because of course you have to breathe.
6. Connotation- an association that a word calls to mind in addition to it's dictionary meaning. The dictionary's definition of life is: the period between the birth and death of a living thing, especially a human being. For this poem "Life" is everything that has been and will be experienced by the speaker. "Life" doesn't just consist with the living of the character but ho the lives of other can impact her.

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1. Hyperbole- a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement . An example is, " When old folks laugh, they free the world.", because a laugh from an elderly person is not influential or powerful enough to actually free the world of it's burdens; although it feels like it could.
2. Imagery- a descriptive language used to recreate sensory experiences. This is seen when the speaker states, "Saliva glistens in the corners of their mouths, their heads wobble on brittle necks...". These lines allow the reader to be able to visualize the old people laughing with closer details.
3. Simile- a figure of speech that compares two things that are basically unlike yet have something in common with the use of "like" or "as". "Old folks allow their bellies to jiggle like slow tambourines." is the line that includes a simile, the simile is comparing an old person's belly to a tambourine being played slowly.
4. Symbol- a person, place, object or activity that stands for something beyond itself. There are two symbols in this poem, the more important one being the laughter. "When old folks laugh, they... forgive life for happening to them." Their laugh symbolizes their good memories and their acceptance of the end of their life, The other symbol is the "winding
the lines between their brows." which symbolizes their age and long lives that are filled with memories.
5. Repetition- a technique in which a sound, word, phrase or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. In this poem the phrase "Old folks" is repeated three times to give a clear understanding of the subject.
6. Aphorism-  a general truth or observation about life, usually stated concisely and pointedly. It can be witty or wise. The poem ends with this stating, " When old folks laugh, they consider the promise of dear painless death, and generously forgive life for happening to them.". So the speaker's observation is that when old people laugh they are grateful for their life and hope for a painless death.

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She was born as Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. There, and in Stamps, Arkansas is where Maya spent her childhood. At eight years old she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, and soon after her rapist was murdered by Maya's uncles. She felt responsible for his death because if she had not told anyone, he would still have his life. Therefore to not harm anyone else with her words, she went mute for five years and in those years she developed a love for language and poetry. After graduating high school she gave birth to her first son, Guy, and became the first female and black street car conductor in San Francisco. Then she had a variety of jobs from fry cook to a dancer to a mechanic's helper. From 1954-1955, she was a member of the cast of a touring production of Porgy and Bess. During the late 1950's, Angelou sang on West Coast and in Hawaiian nightclubs, then returned to New York to continue her stage career. She joined the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950's, which is where she heard Dr. MLK speak, which influenced her to become apart of the civil rights movement. After returning from Africa as a freelance writer, Maya wrote an autobiography called "Why the Caged Bird Sings" which gained quick success. Maya then starred in some movies and T.V. shows. In 2013 she was the recipient of the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community. She died in 2014 at the age of 86.

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Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.

Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.

I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

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They have spent their
content of simpering,
holding their lips this
and that way, winding
the lines between
their brows. Old folks
allow their bellies to jiggle like slow
tambourines.
The hollers
rise up and spill
over any way they want.
When old folks laugh, they free the world.
They turn slowly, slyly knowing
the best and the worst
of remembering.
Saliva glistens in
the corners of their mouths,
their heads wobble
on brittle necks, but
their laps
are filled with memories.
When old folks laugh, they consider the promise
of dear painless death, and generously
forgive life for happening
to them.