Writing a poem inspired by Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' | English

Starter quiz

What type of text is Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me'? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- a stanza
- a soliloquy
- a story
- a poem ✓
- an autobiography
Which of these is a synonym for the word shake? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- trapped
- boo
- quake ✓
- tremble ✓
- whisper
Which of these things does the speaker in Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' not mention?
- shadows
- exams
- heights ✓
- teachers
- dragons
Starting with the first, put what is said in Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' in chronological order. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker says she is not scared of things like shadows and noises.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker says she is not scared of certain characters from stories.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker explains how she frightens away scary things.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker explains how people at school don't frighten her.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker explains she doesn't scream when she sees scary animals.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker says she has magical powers to help her.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  The speaker repeats that she is not scared of life.
In Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me', what does the speaker admit are able to scare her? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- dreams ✓
- dragons
- teachers
- the dark
How many times does Maya Angelou repeat the title 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' in the poem itself? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1
- 5
- 10 ✓
- 15

Exit quiz

In 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me', which of these is the refrain? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- the speaker
- the title ✓
- the figurative language
- the monosyllabic language
Which of these words are monosyllabic? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- quake ✓
- pervades
- fills ✓
- dark ✓
- frighten
Match these words to their definitions ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- monosyllabic
  
  ⇔
  
  words that have one syllable (beat) e.g. run, boo, shout ✓
- repetition
  
  ⇔
  
  the intentional recurrence of particular words or phrases ✓
- figurative language
  
  ⇔
  
  non-literal words or phrases which develop a writer's meaning ✓
- stanza
  
  ⇔
  
  a verse in a poem ✓
- refrain
  
  ⇔
  
  a repeated line or set of lines in a poem ✓
Which of these things are intangible? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- children
- dragons
- shadows ✓
- anger
- frogs
Which of these sentences use the word pervade (or its forms) correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- The smell of vomit pervaded her nostrils when she entered the room. ✓
- The clothes on the floor were minimal, pervading the room.
- As they saw their opponents, the footballers had a feeling of pervading doom. ✓
- The heat pervaded the whole city: there was no escape. ✓
A ______ is a repeated line or group of lines in a poem. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 'refrain' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Maya Angelou uses stanzas and a refrain to structure her poem, 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'.
'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' uses monosyllables at points for effect.
You can use a poet's work to inspire your own creativity.
You can plan each stanza of a poem by considering its focus and the details, including the methods, you want to include.
Reading your poem aloud can help you identify areas you would like to improve.

Common misconception

Angelou's poem is unstructured - the stanzas are uneven and she talks about lots of different things.

Every piece of writing has a structure - even a shopping list. Structure is about the how a text is put together - at its most simple, beginning, middle and end. But we can also look for other structural features. In this case, stanzas and a refrain.

Keywords

Methods - the tools a writer uses to create their work; use of refrain and figurative language are just two examples
Monosyllable - words that have one syllable (one beat) e.g. bad, big, run, fun
Figurative language - non-literal phrases and words which develop a writer's meaning
Refrain - repeated line or group of lines in a poem
Intangible - something that can't be touched e.g. a noise