Before I start my analysis on the poem Mr. Fear, I did a small background check of Lawrence Raab. He was born in 1946 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and is still alive. Raab is an English Professor at Williams College.
I decided to analyze the poem stanza by stanza because I struggle at understanding poetry. I would label poetry as one of my greatest weaknesses in AP Lit, but I plan on improving this semester.
"He follows us, he keeps track. Each day his lists are longer. Here, death, and here, something like it." I decided the he in the stanza is Mr. Fear because Raab is personifying fear. I think Raab is saying is that fear watches what things or events people fear and keep tabs on new fears that are created each day.
"Mr. Fear, we say in our dreams, what do you have for me tonight? And he looks through his sack, his black sack of troubles." I believe this stanza is saying that Mr. Fear finds specific fears for each person because people react to different things. For example, as a child I was terrified of gorillas, and I would cry when I saw a picture or stuffed animal of one. My sister was indifferent to gorillas, but could not stand crickets (even if they were outside). Also, I think that people sometimes anticipate having a nightmare because most people believe that someone cannot have peaceful, pleasant dreams every night.
"Maybe he smiles when he finds the right one. Maybe he's sorry. Tell me, Mr. Fear, what I must carry" I feel this stanza is saying that no one knows how Mr. Fear might feel about his job. Some might think he is a terrible monster who enjoys causing people to sweat in terror each night. Others might think that Mr. Fear has no choice over his job; he does not enjoy it, but must do it. The way Raab describes Mr. Fear reminds me of the portrayal of Pitch Black in the movie The Rise of the Guardians. Pitch Black enjoys destroying the happy dreams of the Sandman by creating them into nightmares. But at the same time, Pitch Black is lonely.
"away from your dream. Make it small, please. Let it fit in my pocket, let it fall through" Some people think that if they have to have a nightmare, they would like a small one that is easily forgettable in the morning. No one likes to remember terrifying events even if the events are not real.
"the hole in my pocket. Fear, let me have a small brown bat and a purse of crickets" To the person in the poem, a small bat or a purse of crickets would be considered a small nightmare. The bat or crickets might make a person cringe in disgust or be worried that he or she might be touched be the insect or animal. At least, the bat or crickets do not leave a person gasping for breath, clutching the blankets to his or her chest night after night.
"like the ones I heard singing last night out there in the stubbly field before I slept, and met you." Sometimes a person dreams about something that happened not even a hour before bed. But each night, a person might have to face his or her fears depending on whether he or she is visited by Mr. Fear or the Sandman.
Overall, I feel Raab is saying that fear is real, a person must face his or her fears every night, and fears are different from person to person.
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