Notes

Sylvia Chidi’s exploration of fear in her poem “Fear of Death” is prominent through her integration of various language techniques and dark imagery as well as structure. As mentioned in the title, the main idea conveyed is her perspective on the experiences one may encounter when they are exposed to the thought of death. Fear is evoked within the reader as Chidi makes a general but effective comment of how people react to the word death. The structure of her poem supports her perception as it is indefinite and the lengths of the stanzas vary. This encourages a sense of disconnection and unpredictability as everything is unordered. The sense of rhythm is lost after the first stanza, enforcing a more impactful fear upon the reader as the length of the second stanza is contrastingly short compared to the rest of the poem. Chidi refers to death as both “an endless cancer” and “shadows of darkness”, metaphorically emphasising the negativity associated with death. Shadows can be interpreted as being daunting and mysterious, stimulating a fearful atmosphere for the reader. The dark imagery prompts further uncertainty which highlights the already distressing mood. It also suggests evilness and the unknown, hence why it’s symbolism adds to the fear. The absence of light imagery strengthens the poem’s lack of positivity, goodness and life, ensuring Chidi’s purpose of depicting the fear of death. By also representing death with cancer, her approach towards fear is illuminated as people are afraid of becoming victims of a life-threatening illness. She further accentuates this pessimism by indicating that the cancer is “endless”, emphasising that death is unavoidable and never-ending. This is additional to the despondent mood created by the dark imagery. Fear is continually being portrayed when “a stillness in the air” is “filled by sudden fear”. Chidi repeats these phrases two times in different stanzas, effectively conveying the underlying fear within in the poem. She is successful in depicting hesitance and doubt as we, as humans, cannot predict future outcomes. The use of “sudden” demonstrates the abruptness of the fear one may experience, stressing on the negative correlations made between individuals and death. This uneasiness is further revealed when Chidi displays the thoughts of “whats next, when and where”. Feelings of anxiety may be enforced as the alliteration of “w” implies worry and perturbation. It connotes the desperation to live, highlighting the intense fear of death. The pace of this line is faster, suggesting haste or the idea that time is running out, increasing feelings of fright. Chidi’s representation of fear in “Fear of Death” is effectively constructed through her craft of poetic techniques.