The poem “Our Greatest Fear” provides the reader with an interesting perspective of success. In our culture, we are brought up to relish in the glory of success and feel an empowering sense of pride. I do not believe that Marianne Williamson is saying to not enjoy the feelings that accompany success, but she is letting us know that are greatest fears lie within the walls of success and the sense of power it gives us. The quote that I found most interesting to be used as means of analysis were in the opening lines of the poem. It is fair to say that these opening lines are the two most well known lines of this poem. She starts out by saying, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.” The diction and syntax that accompany these lines are not overly complex, but the message behind it was a very interesting take on fear. This quote is probably the most significant quote in the poem because it sets the foundation of what to expect in the rest of the work. It should catch the readers’ eyes as it caught mine. One should go from maybe just skimming the work to really focussing their attention to it. At least, that is what happened the first time I had read this poem. I was on a Twitter page of inspirational quotes and came across the opening lines of “Our Greatest Fear” and clicked on the link to see the entire poem. A good and memorable quote does not need to be complex in my opinion, but a strong underlying message to grasp the readers’ attention to focus on the rest of the work is essential for any piece of literature. I think Marianne Williamson did a fine job of that in her most famous poem.
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